Profile - Grant Inman
 
Grant Inman is a limited partner with iMinds and also an active member on the iMinds advisory board.  He has been involved with iMinds since its inception and brings over 30 years venture investing experience in high tech.  Throughout his career, he has sat on over 200 technology boards and advisory boards. His current public board representation includes Lam research (NASD: LRCX) Wind River Systems (NASD: WIND), and Paychex, Inc. (NASD: PAYX).
 
Are there comparable times to this current venture market climate?
There are comparable times but not equivalent times.  This market reminds me of the early 1970's after coming off a terrific market in the late 1960's when major fortunes were made. The venture market was in the doldrums.  At that time, technology innovations were primarily controlled by large companies. Today, however technology starts are more numerous.  New technology companies will be the developers of the economy going forward. Continued innovations in semiconducter, microprocessor, communications and software will result in smaller faster and less expensive devices opening new markets.  I'm very optimistic that we have another great curve of venture investing in technology.
 
Another important distinction between these two times is that technology in the 1970's was embroiled in massive systems you didn't sell a lot of (Cray research) and the whole communications world was controlled by AT&T and the RBOCs so there weren't a lot of potential customers.  Today, there is a broad applicability of technology to all businesses and the business cycles on all fronts have shortened significantly.  It creates an attractive opportunity from a venture investing perspective.
 
What is your perspective on starting a company right now? How tough is it?
This is a terrific time to get a company started.  While one may not get the valuations we were seeing in 1999 and 2000, it is important to get established in the market place during tough times in order to catch the next wave.  There is much more capital and talent available than ever before.  With the tremendous drop in the economy, a number of a very bright people are looking for jobs.  A negative is that many investors have been impacted by the losses last year and are looking backwards rather than forwards.
 
What is some good advice for an entrepreneur starting a business in this climate?
Really think through your business plan.  It's about building a company and revenues.  It's about positioning a company in a growing market.  The numbers also need to be a lot more realistic than they have had to be the last couple of years.  The Internet has not been a business environment (focus on revenue growth and profitability) but an 'information distribution' environment over the last few years.  Going forward, all emphasis should be focused on revenue development rather than the structural goals.  Focus on who is going to buy your product, why they're going to buy it, and how they're going to use it.
 
How long until we emerge from this current downturn?
These cycles in the economy are going to be compressed. The upside will be shorter and hopefully the downsides will be shorter.  We all should be a lot wiser investing going forward.  We need to focus on solid goals and milestones that will result in better, longer standing businesses.
 
Are there some lessons from the good and bad investments you've been involved in?
Focusing, again, on revenue generation.  Taking developmental capital in and building your product and service.  Then sell it and sell it at attractive margins.  Hopefull you have a technology vision that can build more than a single product but a series of products that address a series of markets.
 
What was your most rewarding experience as a venture capitalist?
To fund a company and see that company in existence 25 years down the road.  Knowing that you've backed a company that has become a multi-billion corporation, which has changed the landscape, is quite rewarding.
 
Is there a specific company that comes to mind?
Lam Research was really a company that succeeded against all odds.  There was a series of three CEOs in that company's lifetime all of whom I brought aboard.  Each had different strengths- one in development, one in business development and the last a company builder, is one of the best CEOs I've ever dealt with.  He really has it all.  Lam utilized a very difficult series of technologies (mechanical process precision, wafer physics, multi-chemistry complexity and robotic system) to process increasing smaller line widths existent in semiconductor wafers with multilayer complexity.  I believe Lam's production equipment has been a real driver of technological advance over the past 20 years.
 
What is the most important element to success in venture capital?
Be a good judge of people and back the hell out of them.  'People' development is where a VC can be very effective in a developing enterprise.  Finally, a good VC should thoroughly test a company's business plan and strategy.
 
What have been the biggest source of problems with your past investments?
Breakdown in communications between the investor and the management team.  Overestimation of expectations.  It all relates to communications and setting the proper milestones and business plan.
 
I understand you've recently been investing in some non-technology companies-can you tell me about those?
Yes, I would term those my "lifestyle" investments.  I have made a recent investment in a Scotch distillery off of the west coast of Scotland.  I've also invested in Hog Island oysters, and Duckhorn Vineyards which incidentally has performed quite well though the 1990's.