Destiny

1
Destiny

• Presented By
• Daniel Caratini
• Jacob Bunyan
• Linda Hardman

April 6, 2005
2
The Game Plan

• Team History
• The Players
• The Game
• The Play Patterns
• The Competition
• The Challenges
• The Playbook
• The Post-game

3
Team History

• Entrepreneurial IT organization
• Constantly changing business focus
• Freelance software
• Home banking products
• Credit card products
• Consulting services
• Always trying to stay ahead of commoditization
  curve

4
The Players

• Lester Shuda
• Villanova University
• MS Computer Science
• Artificial intelligence
• Natural language processing
• Destinys founder Entrepreneur
• Chief Technological Officer Looks towards
  future of technology and using IT in new ways to
  develop new products

5
The Players

• Russell Holt
• Purdue University BS in
• Computer Science
• Dreamer The futurist
• of Destiny
• Imaginative
• Mind behind the pattern language server
• Award 30 under 30 to watch in High Tech

6
The Players

• Lucinda Duncalfe
• MBA Wharton School
• Entrepreneurial Management
• Background in marketing and
• finance
• Started with Destiny as CEO
• Award Entrepreneur of the Year

7
The Game - Preview
8
The Game 1st Quarter

• Destinys Genesis
• Lester Shuda founded Destiny
• Software consulting company
• Russell Holt hired as 2nd employee
• First contract Vanguard Group
• Developed content area on AOL
• Tried to obtain intellectual property rights to
  product ideas
• Received grant money from the Franklin Fund
  (25,000)

9
The Game 2nd Quarter

• New Client AOL
• Develop BofA content area on AOL
• Destiny to retain intellectual property rights if
  system completed by June 1996
• Added 5 contractors
• Destinys First Transition
• From software consulting to a home banking
  products
• Lucinda Duncalfe was hired as CEO
• Received grant money (100,000) and private
  venture funding (1.4 Million)
• Company was hiring as client list grew

10
The Game 3rd Quarter

• Home banking business was attracting heavyweight
  players
• Destinys client list included three of top ten
  credit card issuers
• Product licenses not selling well
• Destinys Second Transition
• From home banking products to credit card
  products
• Developed more clearly defined products
• Secured financing of 2.5 Million

11
The Game 4th Quarter

• Management realized they had not yet fully
  achieved the status of product company
• As in the home banking business, competitors were
  offering similar products
• Destinys Third Transition
• From credit card products to consulting
• Pattern Language Server was created
• Employees use Patterns to solve problems and gain
  expertise

12
The Play Patterns

• Destinys use of Patterns
• Was developed from the architectural theory of
  Christopher Alexander
• Arose from the need to retain core competency in
  customization
• Maintained higher levels of quality, speed and
  innovation

13
The Play Patterns

• A pattern is a lesson learned
• Its true meaning is abstract
• Describes the essential qualities of what they
  build
• No two patterns are the same and they vary in
  their quality
• Patterns are made of artifacts
• Specific examples of things that fit the pattern

14
The Play Patterns
15
The Play Patterns

• Destiny created a pattern language server
• Master-Apprentice relationship
• Method of spreading knowledge to new or
  experience-lacking employees
• An internal resource virtual Master
• Any employee (apprentice) can read, add and edit
  patterns
• Team in place to review and promote patterns
• Destinys game plan to stay ahead of the market
  their differentiator

16
The Competition

• IT Consulting growth10 by end of 1999
• Systems Integrators
• Management Consultants
• Web Design Firms
• E-business growth60 by end of 1999
• Interactive Agencies
• Pure Internet Players

17
The Challenges

• Company of dreamers (Holt, Shuda)
• Focused on creative thinking new ideas
• Lucinda was the coach trying to keep things
  concentrated on business
• We need to sell something!

18
The Challenges

• Destiny changing business models at will
• Anticipate changing market environment
• Never fully developed a real product that could
  compete

Deciding
Sensing
Deciding
Acting
Acting
Environment
Environment
19
The Challenges

• Destiny changing business models at will
• Porters Model

• Transitions
• 2nd Edify, Security First
• 3rd IBM

Threat of substitutes
Threat of substitutes
Rivalry among competitors
Rivalry among competitors

• Transitions
• 2nd MS, Intuit
• 3rd IBM, Andersen Consulting

Threat of new entrants
Threat of new entrants
20
The Challenges

• Destiny changing business model at will
• Expand their Web designing to IT Systems 1st
  transition
• Enhance their IT System to incorporate credit
  cards 2nd transition
• Extend their offering to consulting through the
  use of the Pattern Language Server 3rd
  transition

21
The Challenges

• Other consultants use methodologies
• Methodologies are familiar and comfortable to
  clients Patterns are not
• Idea of Patterns was hard to sell
• The Pattern Server isnt totally developed
• The developers didnt fully understand the
  capabilities of the Pattern Server

22
The Playbook

• Continue developing the Pattern Server to add
  value to consulting services
• Continue consulting changing from Pattern Server
  technology to methodologies which are more
  familiar to customers
• Go back to offering web products for financial
  services
• Sell the company or merge

23
The Final Play

• Continue developing the Pattern Server to add
  value to consulting services

24
The Post-game Review

• Destiny dissolves in 2002

25
The Post-game Review

• Lester Shuda began Team and A Dream (after
  Post Destiny) as an entrepreneurial consultant
  to new companies
• Russell Holt left the company
• married Lucinda they have 2 children
• he is a stay at home dad
• Lucinda left the company
• CEO of TurnTide a company which was eventually
  sold to Symantec

26
Post-game Review Destiny vs. Jamcracker

• Similarities
• Economies of Style no barriers to entry
• Sea of ideas with no previous experience
• No sustainable competitive advantage low
  barriers to entry
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Intermediaries

• Differences
• Destiny Radical Jamcracker Conservative
• Jamcracker sold out to the devil Destiny held
  on to the bitter end
• Jamcrackers competitors seen as partners
  Destiny saw them as the devil

27
Questions