I am passionate about enabling the next generation of leaders who are discovering the ground floor of new markets, opening new frontiers and launching new possibilities. Building a great company and working with great entrepreneurs is an active act of creation, a legacy by which others can benefit and be enriched. Perpetuating this process is the focus of my current commitments.

Defining Entrepreneur
Certain qualities define entrepreneurs: They have a passion to conquer problems, the capacity to work hard, and the commitment for results. But above all, they have the supreme sense of self-confidence and belief-in-self to take the first step and see it to the end. With this courage of conviction, entrepreneurs look at risk differently. In essence, they are betting on a belief in their abilities to view and process data in a different way that creates opportunities others do not see.

Sometimes being a successful entrepreneur doesn’t directly translate into becoming a successful business leader. Entrepreneurs bring a purity of focus and produce broad value. A business leader needs to systematically analyze and scrutinize options in order to avoid being blind-sided or locked-in to one idea. Being a successful entrepreneur and a successful business leader requires an optimal balance between listening with a willingness to admit errors or change direction, and having courage of conviction. An entrepreneur can be a master of his or her ideas, but a business leader often has to serve conflicting constituencies.

Core Values and Principles of Leadership
Leading an organization to produce possibility and inspired actions is a juggling act. The entrepreneurial leader is judged by the priorities acted upon. Entrepreneurial leadership is not a popularity contest, but the inner discovery of right and wrong. Making decisions based on short-term kudos or seeking someone else’s approval is not effective long term. Doing so leads to compromise and breeds politics in an organization. And the impact of decisions made cannot always be judged in the moment. Difficult decisions may take historical perspective to decide if they were correct or not. These values must be sustainable in an environment where risk and uncertainty are high. Without core principles, trust in its leadership is undermined.

Building Great Companies
Finally, what makes for the ideal entrepreneurial opportunity? I believe there are four cornerstones for evaluating potential venture opportunities:

• Market Opportunity -- The market needs to be large enough to sustain a substantial revenue stream within 3-to-5 years. Things to consider are whether there is large market potential in a fast growing sector, what is the competition and lastly, does the product or idea replace an existing solution or, is it offering something innovative, and hence, creating a new category.
• Team -- The management team comes next. I look for the entrepreneurs who lead with passion, and that have a clear sense of the opportunity, the domain expertise to build the business, and the conviction to act decisively during difficult times.
• Product or Idea -- Ideally, the product or idea should be unique, and offer a long lasting competitive advantage that is not be easily displaced – difficult problems, solved by ground-breaking or irreplaceable technical solutions create barriers to entry by competitors. Products that are better, cheaper or faster than existing ones can extend a market. Products that provide new functionality previously unseen can create new markets. Market timing is a consideration as well: Releasing a product too early may make it susceptible to being unseated by other technologies; too late, and the demand is gone. The timing has to be right.
• Funding -- I believe it is important to evaluate the experience and track record of the venture partner funding the company. Can they provide access to management, deals and powerful networks? Do they have the time to mentor the entrepreneurs and provide operational guidance? The involvement of the venture partner is critical to transform nascent ideas into higher value businesses. But the most important decision to the success of a company is the chemistry and shared values with the investors.

Many of the role models I have admired are men and women who have impacted the lives of others through their leadership and personal example. Ancient works like the Bhagavat Gita have inspired many of the values of my life philosophy.