Lessons Learnt fromThirdVoice

1
Lessons Learnt fromThirdVoice

• In Conversation with
• Dr Tan Eng Siong
• on 6 Mar 2003

2
Reasons for Failure

• Management team lacked business experience
• Could have hired another external CEO (requested
  but too late in coming)
• Late to realize potential problems (e.g. legal
  issues, abuse usage, hacking)
• Too early success can hurt the company very
  little time to react
• Better to test the product on a smaller scale
  with a smaller community before launching

3
Critical Success Factors

• Having the right people in the team makes a
  difference most important factor
• Product must have a differentiating factor
• Product must be ready when it hits big (at the
  peak of public awareness)
• Need to understand consumer behavior

4
Critical Success Factors (II)

• Important to have sufficient cash to run the
  company
• Having the right execution is far more important
  than having a vision for the company

5
Insights into Silicon Valley

• Angel Investor prefers to fund companies that are
  located and setup in Silicon Valley (not too far
  away from them)
• Require greater tolerance to different working
  styles and cultures
• People there accept and honour entrepreneurship
  e.g. flexible in accepting compensation in the
  form of shares (during internet boom)

6
View towards Govts policy on Entrepreneurship

• Should not be too concern about what the
  government can do for you
• The government can help remove obstacles to doing
  business but there are limitations as to what it
  can do.
• Singapore would not be able to create a market
  as big as China
• Instead we should look for markets outside of
  Singapore

7
Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Go in with your eyes open (be aware of the
  opportunities and the pitfalls)
• Do not over analyze, give yourself a chance to
  test if the idea works (need to experience to
  understand as you cannot learn without hands-on)
• Knowing your own boundary
• Know what you dont know

8
Food for thought

• You ? Business e.g business failure does not
  imply personal failure
• Starting business is not easy as many people will
  try and fail before they experience success.
  However it is better to try it out fast then to
  regret later.
• Good to take a break.. think of what everyone is
  saying..consider the opposite way e.g. look at it
  from a different perspective
• What makes the success could also break the
  success