Cesaer, November 19th, 2008, Politecnico di milano Engineers as entrepreneurs: strengths and...

Cesaer, November 19th, 2008, Politecnico di milano

Engineers as entrepreneurs: strengths and weaknesses

Michel BERNASCONI

Professor

Director of the High-Tech Entrepreneurship Center


The activities of the high-tech entrepreneurship center

How to find the first market of an innovation?

Developping entrepreneurial spirit and new businesses

http://www.alstom.com/


Engineeers have a long tradition of entrepreneurship and they founded the management

TaylorTaylorFayolFayol

The founders of FairchiedThe founders of Fairchied

Larry Page and Sergy BrinLarry Page and Sergy BrinFounders of GoogleFounders of Google

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Frederick_Winslow_Taylor.JPG

http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/collection/groundvehicles/ford_t_1914.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Fonds_henri_fayol.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Schmidt-Brin-Page-20080520.jpg


Some lessons on high-tech start-ups

from

and elsewhere


• At the begining you cannot separate the entrepreneur from

the project

• The first positioning is rarely the right one (Bernasconi)

• High-tech companies remain small, in particular those

coming from research (Mustar)

• Growth is difficult and erratic (Garnsey, Moreau)

• Break even is longer than expected to obtain (x2 compared

to the BP) (Twaalfhoven)


Why high-tech entrepreneuship

is so difficult?


Setting a high-tech start-up is designing a system


The system: dimensions and interactions

Activity (Technology-product-market)

The organisation

Entrepreneur(s)

FinancialRessources

Milieu (territory)

Personal environementIndustry

Bernasconi, 2008

The job of an entrepreneur is to design and manage the system


Building a new company is developing 3 projects


The organisation

Entrepreneur(s)

FinancialRessources

Milieu (territory)



The organisation

Entrepreneur(s)

FinancialRessources

Milieu (territory)


Implementing the Business Plan and finding

an effective Business model

Building and growing the company which fits with the activity

and the Business model

From the idea to a first BP

The entrepreneurship project

The company project

The opportunity project


The organisation

Entrepreneur(s)

FinancialRessources

Milieu (territory)



The organisation

Entrepreneur(s)

FinancialRessources

Milieu (territory)



The organisation

Entrepreneur(s)

FinancialRessources

Milieu (territory)



The organisation

Entrepreneur(s)

FinancialRessources

Milieu (territory)


Bernasconi, 2008

Is there a business opportunity?

Does it work?

How to grow?


Managerial thinking versus Entrepreneurial thinking

M1

M2

M3

M4

M5

Managerial thinking – causal reasoningSelecting between given mean to achieve given goals

Given goalsGiven means

E1

M1 M2

M3

M4

M5

Imagined ends

E2

E3

E4

E5

Given means

Entrepreneurial thinking – Effectual reasoningImagining possible new ends using a given set of means

Source : from Saras D. Sarasvathy


Let’s talk about engineers as entrepreneurs


Engineers as entrepreneurs(usual analysis)

Strengths• Vision• Technical capacities• Skills to learn• Hard workers

Weaknesses• Market orientation• Over estimation of the

value of the product• Limited

communications skills• Low understanding of

the business models


Entrepreneurial skills for high-tech entrepreneurs

• System thinking and system acting

• Effectual approach (and causal approach)

• Comfortable with uncertainty• Capacity to learn fast (specific management expertises)

• Acting through the networks


“Entrepreneurship in higher education, especially in non-business studies”, Summary of the final report of the Expert Group, European Commission, Enterprise and industry Directorate, 2008.


Thank you for your attention

Cesaer, November 19th, 2008, Politecnico di milano Engineers as entrepreneurs: strengths and...

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