The Evolution of New Venture Management

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The Evolution of New Venture Management
Terry McGuire Polaris Venture Partners
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Polaris Venture Partners

• Early Stage Technology Investors
• IT and Medical
• Over 1 billion of committed capital
• Companies including
• Akamai Technologies
• deCODE Genetics
• Ucentric Systems
• MicroChips

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Natural Transitions

• Drivers
• Taking Company thru Phases of Development
• Moving from Founders to Operators
• Going from Small to Large Organizations
• Finding the Pleasure of Building

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Stages of Development Stages of Management
Organization Size
Research Development Launch
Product Diversification
Skills

• Leading small team
• Understanding discovery
• Remaining focused

• Customizing products
• Leading multi- level
• organization

• Understanding product
• rollout
• Quick customer
• interaction
• Attentive to feedback

• Selling the vision to all
• segments of market
• Knowing how to integrate
• new and old products
• Understanding customer
• service and retention

Typical CEO

• Technologist
• Understand the
• Fundamentals

• Project Manager
• Group Interaction
• Control Oriented

• General Manager
• Control Oriented
• More Delegation

• Classic CEO
• Visionary
• Delegator
• Motivator
• Market Credibility

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Path One

• Akamai
• Technical Founders
• Realized Size of Opportunity
• Wanted to Jump Start
• Hired in Super Star CEO
• Outcome
• Highly Successful

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Path Two

• deCODE
• Technical Founder
• Had the Innate Capabilities to Scale Quickly
• Willing to Take Advice and Council
• Sensitive to Full Range of Greater Issues
• Outcome
• Very successful

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Path Three

• Un-named
• Technical Founder
• Great Technical Experience, Little Business
  Experience
• Not Willing to Give Up Control to Outsider
• Outcome
• Could be stalled

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Rules/Lessons

• Understand the Motivations Behind Transition.
• CEO Should Understand
• What they are Good at.
• What they are Not Good at.
• What they Enjoy.
• Be Prepared for Transition. Its Natural.
• Structure a Board that Lets you Trust the Outcome.

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