This a record of my life, work and play as a Serial Entrepreneur, raised over £150 million and founded / co-founded six companies, listed one on the AIM and made trade sales of three others.
What do I mean , well there are two view points at least, maybe even four, but I will stick to the two of them today, this will be a short post as it has been a long long day. I have been talking to recruiters on and off every day over the last week or so and part of those discussions are what prompted me to this subject.
So the easy part:
Company Culture for the Boss:
The company culture can either grow your bottom line or hurt your bottom line, and staying level is hurting the bottom line by the way IMHO. What can you do to make sure you have a strong culture look for the signs..positive sub-culture groups, war stories on outstanding performance, strong group bonding outside of work,low staff turn over, if people get on outside work they will generally work together better. I know there will be some folk reading this and saying that's crap, "I pay them to work and that's the end of it", that will give you my friend the performance you deserve, flat line ultimately. I always grow a positive culture whenever I can as this makes my life that much easier and keeps a strong bottom line. There is loads to add to this but I am keeping it brief for today, feel free to engage my services if you want to explore further or have a look at www.companyculture.com.
Company Culture for the Employee or prospective Employee:
Take time and find out as much as you can about a company before you join, you may find the culture not so good, but at least you will know, and this will taylor your first 100 days. You can do this work before you target your job hunt if you have the freedom to choose, but do it anyway before you interview, how I hear you cry, well use the social networks and professional, like LinkedIn , Facebook, Eacademy, Spoke, Twitter, Zing, Zoominfo, get in to the discussion groups targeted at your industry of choice and start digging asking question, use the search function to dig folk out from the company, get busy with Google and get searching, there are many ways to find out what you want to know, and I suggest that you do it. If you know the culture of a company you may join you can work out long term what the prospects are going to be for you before you start, and if you will like working in that culture.
Summary:
Culture is not something that only a few people can develop, it is the corporate body that chooses what culture they will make, I used to run a shift in a semiconductor factory that was staffed by ladies of a certain age, that in its self set the culture, I am not saying that you cannot control and redirect slightly and manage behaviour, be we make the culture we work in. There have been document projects that have tried to change the culture, it takes a while and a lot of face time to make that happen, so Entrepreneur make the culture part of your armoury to win, don't let it pull you down, and don't become distanced from it.
I thought I would do a bit of self advertising on my Blog today.
Over the last two and a half years I have been involved in spinning out a solar cell manufacturing business from a technology incubator center, this has been an interesting but difficult gig, the stuff I have been involved with this gig is as below:
Feasibility study of Solar Technologies as they are applied in the field, understanding the ultimate cost of energy for a variety of technologies.
In depth review of the concentrated solar industry, system build, operations and manufacturing challenges and variety of technologies.
Feasibility study of setting up a low to medium concentrator facility in the UK, Madrid, Asia.
Developed financial models for all scenarios, modeling cost of product , cash flow, capex and running costs.
Worked with the turnkey suppliers of solar cell manufacturing lines to develop project plans for the deployment of 20/40MW manufacturing lines , these are companies like Centrotherm, Rena, Oerlikon.
Led on the acquisition of an existing solar cell manufacturing line in central Europe, and developed a plan to run insitu at it's present location.
Led on the acquisition of the equipment only of the above solar cell manufacturing line, while finding a location in the UK to support the operation.
Developed the supply chain for the operation, working with chemical and wafer suppliers, contract negotiated with the major wafer suppliers, like REC, LDK,NORSUN and other up and coming Asian suppliers.
Led Business development and helped secure with the team over 20 new customers.
Developed business plans and engaged with the Investment community to raise funding
Helped promote the business at trade shows and conferences around the world
Help to manage the research and manufacturing business unit that would have been the technology provider.
Travelled over 200k miles economy, taken every form of transport available, eaten nearly every kind of food known.
In my spare time researched and performed due diligence on Wind, Waste to energy projects in different regions of the world.
The team was on average 1.5 to 2 people with the help of the odd friend and consultant
Why do I tell you all of this, this the minimum you will need to be prepared to do to get your business started, the hard part/fun part is when you actually see the money and start to build your company, have fun, feel free to catch up with me if you need any help, paid would be good, I have a lot of free custom already.
I am a technically aware, dynamic, results-driven executive with a proven record of successfully developing and leading operations in cleantech and high-technology environments. Demonstrated accomplishments in early stage business development and new product introduction across a variety of markets. Change manager adept in startup, reengineering, and high-growth technology environments, Visionary planner and analytical problem solver with a “big picture” mentality. Strong leader adept at managing and motivating cross-functional teams. Excellent communication and relationship building skills. Experienced with developing outsourced manufacturing partners and strategic suppliers. Has over 15 years experience working with venture capital supported companies, both in Europe and North America, he has helped raise private equity funding for five early stage companies.
Responsible for the management of the research center, cell and module manufacturing, research and development, product engineering, evaluating solar technologies and analyzing there impact on the market with regards to cost of product sold, cell performance. Leading the commercialization of the research centers photovoltaic solar cell technology. Prepared the business plan for £20m investment and is engaging with the investment community. Working with various turnkey photovoltaic equipment suppliers to develop a new factory build project, worked with local authorities on selection of suitable manufacturing sites across the UK and explored available grant options.
ØPreparing business plan for technology spin out, and presented to investors
ØLeading sales and marketing function, developing customer base to 20 customers
ØEvaluation and selection of production technologies for large scale manufacturing sites.
ØDeveloped technology road map to develop next generation solar cell manufacturing.
ØImproved production efficiencies by 25% and reduced product cost by 35%
Forth Dimension displays –Dunfermline, UK 10/2004 – 08/2007www.forthdd.com
Director of Micro display operations
Responsible for manufacturing operations of micro-displays and sub-systems for helmet mounted and projection television applications. Restarted closed micro-display fabrication manufacturing foundry and established robust supply chain. Recruited management team and supporting operations team. Worked within a fabless semiconductor model to supply, develop new silicon backplane and asic driver devices for new products. Reduce customer returns by 40% and improved delivery performance by 50%. This role had extensive travel in China and Taiwan. Help to implement a reorganization of the business to increase the possibility of long term success.
Key Achievements:
ØRestarted the pilot manufacturing line
ØEstablished high volume manufacturing partners for the microdisplay and drive electronics
ØImplemented ISO 9001 and NPI strategy throughout the company wide.
ØNegotiated supply agreements with major component suppliers
ØImplemented SAP 1 for financial modeling and supply chain management.
ØRestructured the operations to focused on head mounted display core business
ØSecured funding from venture capital partners of £3m to support restructuring of business
ØResponsible for continuous increased revenue for 15 months.
ØImplemented ISO 9001 and NPI strategy, company wide.
rosebank technologies –Edinburgh, UK 06/2003 – 10/2004
Chief Operation Officer
This was a short term project to set up an advanced semiconductor process development organization, using spin-on-glass based thick films and deliver a solution to a tier 1 semiconductor process equipment supplier. Responsible for operations, engineering and development functions. This was an opportunity to recover IP from the liquidated Terahertz Photonics an early stage photonic start-up.
Key Achievements:
ØDeveloped business plan for organization and executed
ØSecured access to business premises and negotiated low start overheads
ØLed business development with Applied materials for process development project
ØSecured SMART funding from Scottish Executive for proof of concept project
ØCo-Authored a Patent on SOG for DTI / STI next generation semiconductors
LITTLE OPTICS, INC. – Annapolis, MD, 02/2002 – 10/2003www.littleoptics.com
Vice President of Operations
Direct day-to-day operations for this manufacturer of integrated optical ASIC’s for a diverse market covering biotechnology, communications, and the military. Define, develop, and execute manufacturing and outsourcing strategies leading towards a fabless manufacturing model. Oversee administration, human resources, facilities, and quality management. Develop and administer budgets. Monitor company wide projects. Manage and orchestrate wafer fabrication engineering and advanced process development teams. Manage all facets of product delivery. Serve as expert consultant for advanced packaging team. Developed and implemented company wide and outsourcing partner ISO 9001 quality programs. Managed senior operations management team and coached the founding staff. Present program progress to Board of Directors. I helped to raise $7 million in venture capital funding this allowed the organization to position it’s self to be acquired by Nomadics Plc and secure the future for the employees and return shared holders value. I could see my role disappearing as part off the acquisition, so I planned my return to the Scotland and take up the project with Rosebank Technologies.
Key Achievements:
ØDeveloped and implemented process improvements to reduce operating costs 35%
ØEstablished strategic outsourcing partnerships with a range of manufacturing companies
ØAggressively managed supply chain reducing consumable and raw material costs 30%
ØInstituted and implemented low-cost manufacturing strategy, reducing design cycle time 25%
ØDirectly developed and implemented company wide budget control and planning policies.
ØDeveloped an outsource manufacturing base for Wafer fabrication and Packaging services
ØSecured venture capital funding of $7m
MICRO PHOTONIX INT. CORP. – Phoenix, AZ, 06/2000 – 02/2002
Director of Manufacturing
Managed organization wide operations across three manufacturing divisions for this producer of telecommunication sub systems of this venture capital funded buisness. Established and implemented world-class manufacturing facilities supporting production of lithium niobate integrated optical components and hybrid RF amplifiers and integrated modules. Oversaw implementation of Telcordia and ISO9001 quality programs. Recruited, hired, and managed operations, manufacturing, logistics, and engineering staff. MicroPhotonix was raising capital from the venture capital community just prior to the 9/11 terrorist attack in the USA, the attack caused the VC community to stop there investment activities until they could this impacted our ability negatively to secure adequate funding and the company closed down. I then left to join Little optics.
Key Achievements:
ØLed design and implementation of four new products in 2001
ØSuccessfully negotiated manufacturing licenses for advanced optical components.
ØSecured manufacturing licenses worth $3m plus in revenues
ØSupported funding activities raised $13m
ØBrokered sale of assets and IP to overseas corporation
JDSU – Essex, England, 1995 – 2000
Senior Manufacturing Manager
Oversaw a wide range of manufacturing initiatives for this $24 million venture capital funded opto-electronic component company. Developed and executed production facility from R&D pilot line. Devised and executed process and production control systems. Recruited and developed wafer fabrication and component assembly teams. Led development for future generation of products supporting OC192 applications. I left this role to develop my career with experience of working in the USA in a new start up organization.
Key Achievements:
ØAssembled teams and established processes to develop world-class manufacturing facility
ØLed project to develop an efficient process capability, this included new process and equipment introduction, resulting in line yield improvement of 35%
ØLed project team charged with wide-scale facility expansion/enhancement initiative; increased throughput 200% and component assembly 100%
ØSupported IPO on the Alternative Investment Market
ØSupported acquisition of company from IOC to SDL/ JDSU
THE TOWER – Montrose, Scotland, 1993 – 1995
Manufacturing Consultant
Established, developed and managed consultant firm. Developed and executed management and personal development programs. Led reengineering and change management projects supporting small- to medium- sized high-tech companies. Orchestrated and conducted team development courses.
SEAGATE MICROELECTRONICS- Shift Production Manager, 1993-1994
NEC SEMICONDUCTORS (UK) Ltd.-Livingstone, Scotland, 1981-1993
Served as key member of pre-production team charged with establishing innovative six-inch wafer fabrication facility in Europe. Facilitated multiple projects throughout three-year foreign assignment.
