Different Industries, Same Goals… Similar or Different?

Tucker Marion Presents Case Studies in Santa Cruz, California

Late in 2009, Tucker Marion along with other authors from Northeastern University presented three case studies at the 2009 North American Case Research Association annual meeting.

http://nacra.net/meeting2009/

The three case studies are designed to drive research and curriculum development in the area of technology venture development.  The idea was simple: given the technological and industry differences between different types of start-ups (devices, biotech, software) – can you look at them through the same lens? Or, are they so different that they need be researched and taught differently? What we found is that there are some clear differences, but there are also some similarities. We found that start-ups, no matter what industry, are comprised of 2-3 founders that are in essence – omni-functional. These people perform tasks from sales to engineering all within the same day – very different from large companies where people work on specific core tasks. We also found that these firms focus on goals, rather than on processes and paperwork – again, very different from large firms. We also found that device companies, driven by the speed and low cost of prototyping, are beginning to resemble agile software firms in the way they approach development. It is this low cost, fast iterative development process that FlashPoint works to optimize for all client projects.  Currently, the research team is working on developing a theory paper to disseminate this research in an academic journal. The research was funded by a grant from NACRA received in 2008.