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When Asked To Kickstart
Product Managers as Intrapreneurs
Itzik Adziashvili
“We are what we repeatedly do…”
I repeatedly built new businesses, products and teams working for organisations
Aristotle
About me Intrapreneur
AGT Int. <= 3i-MIND New products: Public Sector - SmartCity IOT & Analytics New products: Public Sector - Decision Support
Neustar <= Followup New product: Telecom - IMS Network Element
Polycom <= MeetUNew product: Enterprise - Web Collaboration Service
IDF New product: IT - Data warehouse
kartisim.co.il New product: Internet - eCommerce
"A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation".
Wikipedia Citing The American Heritage Dictionary
“Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organisation.”
Wikipedia
"A person within an organisation who assumes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a product through innovation".
Itzik Adziashvili :)
E vs. IIntraprenuer Entreprenuer
Founders You Mostly A Team
Idea Mostly Not Yours Mostly Yours / Team
Funding Not A Big Problem (Mostly) Big Problem
Coolness Who’s Heard of You? Can It Be Cooler?
Commitment Oh Yeh Oh Yeh
Ecosystem Adapt Create
Politics Can’t Get Worse Founders, Investors
Success Sponsor Expectations Your Expectations
Reward Incremental Aim for Life Changing
Risk Time, Career Time, Money, Career
Product Manager are a Natural Choice as Intrapreneurs
Past leadership experience?
Have commercial competence (MBA)?
Past tech experience / domain expertise?
Have a “Can Execute” image?
Can navigate the corporate politics?
A potential Intraprenuer!
Example #1
Some Background
Startup with $$$ trying to expand on the back of a BIG project
Young kid big body
Visionary demanding founder
Trusted management team
My starting point I had no clue where to start…
Newbie - Hired for the job
I received 1 slide as key concept + some docs
I had “absolute” freedom
I was told “money is not an issue”!
My Key KPIs Time, Cost, Customers
Time to first customer
Time to first product
Time to second customer
Cost to second customer
No Hitchhikers!
My exit pointAfter 9 months
With $2m bookings
2 customers in delivery
7 man commando team
Created a strategic asset
Created a product line
NO & YESNO: For core product services / more bodies for acceleration
NO: For shooting for the stars with a slingshot
NO: For getting an elephant as my first customer
YES: For market access and sales
YES: For stepping stone strategy 80%-20%
My Team Lean and Mean 7: Built To Last
All producers, No QA, Flat, Rotating role based leadership
Tapped on my network to draw core team
Got Lucky hiring top of the line CTO - Wing Man
Selected and controlled my service suppliers
Used corporate services for: Finance, Legal, Markom, Sales and BD, myself as POC
Example #2
My starting point Mission Impossible
Capture and deliver a landmark project as your first customer
The illusion of freedom
Competition is world class
It had strategic importance to the company
Money is not an issue! (OMG Again)
My exit point
24 months, & $$$, many MY invested
Captured and delivered a landmark project
Redefined company’s core strategy
Bad & Good
BAD: Setup, Control Span, Definition of Success
BAD: Corporate Politics
Bad: Corporate Commitment
Bad: Elephant as first customer
Good: delivered, Customers Happy
Good: strategic assets
Good: Budgetary Freedom
Good: Landing Beach
My Team Built for a Sprint
100+ employees assembled from multiple corporate functions
Front end Core Team, Back-office COO
Used corporate services for: Finance, Legal, Markom, Sales, Supply Chain
Summary and Takeaways
Key takeaways No Cookie-cutter but…
Agree on what is success upfront!
Make Sure you can say no!
Select your first customer wisely! The bigger it is, the more chances of failureSelect a region / market that will invest time for you
Do not do it alone! Team - Make / Break; Wing man to complement you
Sale! Communicate vision, here to there constantly
Money is always an issue! :)
So Intrapreneur - yes or no?
Done well, chances are you create something NEW and may end up managing BUs and companies
But it comes with a price -
Pressure, frustrations, long hours
Sole accountability, Not Mr. Nice Guy
80% of your time spend on noise
Politics is a MUST
it’s not a job, it’s a passion
