[PPT] - Milestones for Startups Mark Harward CTO, Syndiant, Inc. Outline PowerPoint Presentation

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Concept to Success: Milestones for Startups

Mark Harward CTO, Syndiant, Inc.

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Syndiant Confidential

Outline

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 2

1. Introduction to Syndiant
2. Quick history: Lessons learned, personal challenges,

start-up team building

3. Searching for the right problem to solve
4. Searching for the right dance partner – a “teaching

customer”

5. Corporate Governance
6. Keeping score
7. Be open-minded and ready to adapt
8. What is intellectual property good for?
9. Perspectives on Semiconductor

10.Perspectives on India

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Syndiant Confidential

Syndiant Inc. is an Optical Device company founded in 2004. Syndiant designs and manufacturers light modulating panels for high resolution displays used in ultra-portable projectors small enough to embed in a glasses.

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Syndiant's patented all-digital smart panel technology, enables the world's smallest personal display devices that uniquely meet cost, power, size and resolution requirements.

Syndiant Confidential Information

Introduction to Syndiant

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Syndiant Confidential

Syndiant’s technology is the gateway to view and share high resolution content

Syndiant VueG8 Panel Projection Device Large Screen Experience

Syndiant - Enabling Large Screen Experiences with Handheld Electronics

Optical Module

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Syndiant Confidential Information

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 4

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Syndiant Confidential Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 5

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Syndiant Confidential

Syndiant Confidential Information

DVC Video Game

Phone

Tablet & Laptop

HUD

Near Eye

PicoTV STB

Accessory

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 6

Key Market Segments

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Syndiant Confidential

Syndiant Confidential Information

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mi-Stand™

iPad™ iPad mini™ iPhone™

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Syndiant Confidential

Syndiant Confidential Information

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mi-Slide™

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Syndiant Confidential

mi-TV™

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Syndiant Confidential

Syndiant Confidential Information

Heads-Up Display (HUD)

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Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 10

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Syndiant Confidential

2. Quick history: Lessons learned

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 11

1. Built the wrong culture in 1st start-up. Had to fix it.
2. Self employed technician or entrepreneur?
3. Team building:

a) Recruiting rules b) Culture of accountability c) Discuss how difficult decisions will be made

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Syndiant Confidential

3. Searching for the right problem to solve

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 12

1. Opportunity assessment matrix

a) Gather information, analyze, and then make the best decision on which opportunity to attack b) After making decision, retain the documentation and periodically review assumptions.

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Syndiant Confidential

4. Searching for the right dance partner

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 13

1. Find a teaching customer who:

a) Wants you to succeed, b) Believes in your solution enough to try it, and c) Does not want to keep your product/service out of the hands of other prospective customers

2. You want a customer who thinks it is worth their time to

communicate to you how to improve. a) Be thankful for every word they share. Do not be defensive.

3. Focus on a very few customers as our initial efforts

usually leave much to be improved upon.

4. “Crossing the Chasm” by Geoffrey Moore
5. “The Four Steps to the Epiphany” by Steven Blank

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Syndiant Confidential

5. Corporate Governance

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 14

1. Learn the fundamentals of corporate governance
2. Building the BOD

a) Spend enough time with nominees to feel good about the relationship chemistry. If there is friction when there are no problems, tough times will be terrible. b) Seek members whose strengths compensate for any team weaknesses. c) If investors will not allow you the BOD you want, then build a Board of Advisors. d) Directors & Officers liability insurance e) Keep your board informed. They need bad news immediately so they can help. Communicate ahead of board meetings so they can digest the information.

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Syndiant Confidential

6. Keeping Score

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 15

1. If business is a game, accounting is how we keep score.

a) You may be on your second start-up before you understand the importance of basic concepts such as defining the chart of accounts needed to track the business. b) Learn to budget and track compliance. c) Financial controls are necessary to help keep your team and professional service providers honest. There are many embezzlement victims out there.

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Syndiant Confidential

7. Be open-minded and ready to adapt

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 16

1. Do not fall in love with your strategy & business model.

a) The best market for your solution may not be the first market that you attack. b) The business model we initially propose must be significantly revised.

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Syndiant Confidential

8. What is intellectual property good for?

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 17

1. Filing IP is expensive, so be very discerning
2. “first to file” rather than “first to invent” forces

companies to invest in IP sooner.

3. Provisional patent filings buy you a year to complete the

actual filing or walk away from the idea. Know that one can only write claims on what is taught in the spec in the provisional application, so you have to put serious work into that.

4. What are patents, anyway? If, in a world of 3 legged

chairs, I patent a 4 legged chair, do I have the right to build 4 legged chairs and not fear litigation?

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Syndiant Confidential

9. Perspectives on Semiconductor

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 18

1. Concede the high NRE space to the big boys

a) Few successful semiconductor exits, so the IRR does not justify the huge investment risk of “short channel” chip solutions.

2. Consider product areas that can use “long channel”
technologies. Smart power, analog and RF are all ripe for

innovations.

3. Consider product ideas at the subsystem or even the

system level.

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Syndiant Confidential

10. Perspectives on India

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 19

1. India has great advantages

a) Huge English speaking technical workforce b) Favorable exchange rate c) Perception of respect for IP. d) Lower costs for labor, G&A, EDA, some equipment.

2. India has great opportunities

a) Ability to innovate and commercialize innovation can improve immensely. b) Find left-brain creative people to help us look at problems from different perspectives. c) Market assessment and product definition are critical, but do we appreciate the need? One must be able to communicate value before one can sell it.

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Syndiant Confidential

Conclusion

Syndiant Keith Lewis· January 6, 213· Page 20

Three years from now, we will look back on today and see many ideas in products and services that we will kick

urselves for not having thought of them.

There are countless problems to which our eyes are presently blind. See them. Solve them.

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Thank You

The World’s Leading LCOS Display Company

I have an outline of thoughts that may be helpful for those of you who have not yet been through a complete start-up cycle. If you would like me to send it to you, please email your request to: mgharward@gmail.com.

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Syndiant Confidential

Syndiant Customer Base

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