An introduction from Melbourne

[Marc Harrison]

No new introductions yet today?  Okay, my turn!

My background?

• I'm a business guy.  My background is finance and investment, with 10+ years at a leading Australian financial services firm.  More on that here: au.linkedin.com/in/marcharrison;
• I now spend part of my time working with small businesses, being their "business guy" (ideally like a part-time COO, but just as often on one-off projects).  My ideal client is a business owner that doesn't want an equity partner and can't afford a full time COO, but needs a second set of eyes looking at the business and helping with a range of general management issues.
• Between the corporate world and now I've been involved in one expensive business failure, and learned a lot of lessons including: how hard it is to be objective about businesses you are personally involved in (and thus, the value of outside help... which partly led to my current consulting businesses); how to liquidate a company before trading while insolvent; that I wasn't as good a judge of character as I thought (or that I am too trusting, or both); the value of well drafted legal docs when things fall apart; and the list goes on.  Most importantly, that you can get through things like and come out the other side!

Why am I here?

• I've been interested in startups for years, particularly web startups since I spend about 99% of my waking hours connected to the net in some way;
• I read some stuff on this board and loved the quality of conversations, and thought I should join in;
• I've been to a couple of the Melbourne SB drinks and met some great people;
• I am keen to meet lots more people.

What am I currently looking for?

• Some days I think a business partner.  I am a business guy, and while I love tech and was I coding at an early age (back it was still called programming!) the lure of the corporate world, a Collins St office and expensive suits got the better of me.  And now that I've grown out of that, it's probably a bit late to start coding for a living.  So as a business guy if I am going to do the web startup thing I need the right partner(s);
• I come strongly from the world of "a business partnership is like a marriage... maybe even harder", both from a theoretical point of view and from experience (see above).  For that reason I'm not likely to rush into something too quickly, at least without very good exit clauses for everybody;
• Having said that, every relationship starts with a first meeting so unless I am going to limit my potential business partners to people I already know I need to keep building new relationships with interesting people!
• I also learned from my time as an investment professional that doing what everyone else is doing is usually a bad idea, at least in the long run.  That makes me wonder about the wisdom of attempting a web startup right now or whether I'm just getting sucked in like everyone else (or maybe I just think too much?).  At least I can say I wanted to do this years before seeing the Social Network.  ;-)

And finally?

• I am also one of the guys behind Six8 Bromham, a new coworking space in Richmond, VIC. We are small, and only have a few free desks as I write this, but we love visitors.  So if you like meeting people and talking about business and the internet, either keep an eye out for me at Melbourne Silicon Beach drinks or, better yet, get in touch with me and come for a drink at Six8 where we can have a real chat.

That's it.  Introduction out of the way!  Time to get active in some of the great SB discussions.

Marc.

harrisonbc.com

@marcharrison

au.linkedin.com/in/marcharrison

six8bromham.com

[gord]

Marc,

Excellent intro!

Interesting to see 'portable COO' working well in your case...

Im in the process of reinventing/rebranding myself as 'portable CTO'
-
people tend to approach me to review their idea or project,
and being opinionated I never can hold back :]

Ive have found some startups tend to be a bit wary of new platforms
such as Node.js and NoSQL approaches like CouchDB / Mongo / Redis.

I think they see that as risky.. whereas I see large code bases as
more of the real risk in a startup growth phase, where you want to
ship
features quickly.

I guess NoSQL needs a bit more of a mind-meld, which I can relate to.
But Node.js I think is now a practical technology - after rolling out
one Node.js system with iPhone client, and a larger one on the way,
I really believe server-side Javascript is now the PHP replacement
everyone has been looking for.


Nice co-working space, btw. Ideal for lunch at ThoTho's on Vic!

gord
Melbourne

On Jun 8, 2:34 pm, Marc Harrison <mharriso...@gmail.com> wrote:
>  No new introductions yet today?  Okay, my turn!
>
> My background?
>

>    - I'm a business guy.  My background is finance and investment, with 10+

>    years at a leading Australian financial services firm.  More on that here:
>    au.linkedin.com/in/marcharrison;

>    - I now spend part of my time working with small businesses, being their

>    "business guy" (ideally like a part-time COO, but just as often on one-off
>    projects).  My ideal client is a business owner that doesn't want an equity
>    partner and can't afford a full time COO, but needs a second set of eyes
>    looking at the business and helping with a range of general management
>    issues.

>    - Between the corporate world and now I've been involved in one expensive

>    business failure, and learned a lot of lessons including: how hard it is to
>    be objective about businesses you are personally involved in (and thus, the
>    value of outside help... which partly led to my current consulting
>    businesses); how to liquidate a company before trading while insolvent; that
>    I wasn't as good a judge of character as I thought (or that I am too
>    trusting, or both); the value of well drafted legal docs when things fall
>    apart; and the list goes on.  Most importantly, that you can get through
>    things like and come out the other side!
>
> Why am I here?
>

>    - I've been interested in startups for years, particularly web startups

>    since I spend about 99% of my waking hours connected to the net in some way;

>    - I read some stuff on this board and loved the quality of conversations,

>    and thought I should join in;

>    - I've been to a couple of the Melbourne SB drinks and met some great
>    people;
>    - I am keen to meet lots more people.

>
> What am I currently looking for?
>

>    - Some days I think a business partner.  I am a business guy, and while I

>    love tech and was I coding at an early age (back it was still called
>    programming!) the lure of the corporate world, a Collins St office and
>    expensive suits got the better of me.  And now that I've grown out of that,
>    it's probably a bit late to start coding for a living.  So as a business guy
>    if I am going to do the web startup thing I need the right partner(s);

>    - I come strongly from the world of "a business partnership is like a

>    marriage... maybe even harder", both from a theoretical point of view and
>    from experience (see above).  For that reason I'm not likely to rush into
>    something too quickly, at least without very good exit clauses for
>    everybody;

>    - Having said that, every relationship starts with a first meeting so

>    unless I am going to limit my potential business partners to people I
>    already know I need to keep building new relationships with interesting
>    people!

>    - I also learned from my time as an investment professional that doing

>    what everyone else is doing is usually a bad idea, at least in the long run.
>     That makes me wonder about the wisdom of attempting a web startup right now
>    or whether I'm just getting sucked in like everyone else (or maybe I just
>    think too much?).  At least I can say I wanted to do this years before
>    seeing the Social Network.  ;-)
>
> And finally?
>

>    - I am also one of the guys behind Six8 Bromham, a new coworking space in

>    Richmond, VIC. We are small, and only have a few free desks as I write this,
>    but we love visitors.  So if you like meeting people and talking about
>    business and the internet, either keep an eye out for me at Melbourne
>    Silicon Beach drinks or, better yet, get in touch with me and come for a
>    drink at Six8 where we can have a real chat.
>
> That's it.  Introduction out of the way!  Time to get active in some of the
> great SB discussions.
>
> Marc.
>

> <goog_692712457>
> harrisonbc.com <http://www.harrisonbc.com>
> @marcharrison <http://twitter.com/marcharrison>
> au.linkedin.com/in/marcharrison
> six8bromham.com

[drllau]

> Interesting to see 'portable COO' working well in your case...
>

In India they have a concept of a fractional CxO, where a senior/
experienced executive works a percentage of their time at each small
business. Sorta quasi-coaching, quasi-handson management role. There
are advantages (given the shortage of management talent in emerging
economies) and disadvantages (issue of involvement v commitment, not
to mention IP leakage). In the West, where independence is more
valued, angels and business coaches take up this niche.

Lawrence
http://nz.linkedin.com/in/drllau

[Marc Harrison]

Gord: "Excellent intro!"  ... "Nice co-working space, btw."

Thanks Gord!  :-)


Lawrence: "In India they have a concept of a fractional CxO, where a senior/experienced executive works a percentage of their time at each small business. Sorta quasi-coaching, quasi-handson management role."

Thanks Lawrence, I'd never heard that term before, although it is exactly the model I picked for how I wanted to spend my time.


Lawrence: "There are advantages (given the shortage of management talent in emerging economies) and disadvantages (issue of involvement v commitment, not to mention IP leakage)."

Obviously in Australia the shortage of management talent is not a huge problem [insert witty/sarcastic comment here], but I think there are many other benefits.  Obviously I am biased as this is my business model, but here was my thinking when I started...


I asked myself: If I had just two choices - work at 1 company for 5 days a week (say, for $150k p.a.) or 5 companies each for 1 day per week (at $30k p.a. each so we can compare apples with apples) - which would I choose and which is best for my employer or clients?

Here's some of what I came up with:

1. When working with small businesses how many can afford $150k for a CxO (COO, CFO, CTO, etc) type role?  Certainly a minority of them.  (Score:  5 clients: 1 point, 1 employer: 0 points)

2. Which small companies need the skills of an experienced business executive more - the ones that have $150k p.a. available to spend on a CxO or the ones that don't?  (5 clients: 2 points, 1 employer: 0)

3. Success in CxO roles is more about ideas and execution than time spent at the desk, and we all have a limited number of ideas, some good and some less good.  Would I rather use my very best ideas 5 with each of 5 clients, or spend all my time at one employer where I have to use my best ideas, my average ones, and some of the rest just to fill up 5 days each week.  And which option would provide better value per idea for my clients or employer (5 clients: 3point , 1 employer: 0).  [Does that make sense?  I know what I am trying to say, but find it hard to summarise in a couple of lines!]

4. We are all learning on the job every day.  Am I more likely to learn new things by seeing the successes and failures from the inside of 5 different clients each week, and then have 5 places to apply the things I learn, or by spending all my time with one employer where I only see the inside of one business and the lessons I learn can only be applied at that same place?  (5 clients: 4 points, 1 employer: 0)

5. Part of a CxO's role is networking.  Will I build a better network that will help bring new opportunities and customers to my clients or employer if I work for 1 company or 5?  Or put another way, if I go to a networking event am I more likely to meet someone that will be of value if I am looking for new contacts for 5 businesses or for just 1?  (5 clients: 5 points, 1 employer: 0)

6. I do a lot of reading, and a lot of thinking while not at work (ie. my "shower time").  My best ideas comes from these activities, not sitting at a desk.  Would I have a better chance of coming up with an idea that I can profitably put into action if I have 5 potential places to use that idea, or 1?  (5 clients: 6 points, 1 employer: 0)


Obviously there are a lot of benefits to this way of working!!!  But again, I am biased!  :-)


The negatives?

Lawrence mentioned "involvement vs commitment".  Yep, if a business has 5 days per week of genuinely value adding work for their CxO then fine, hiring one on a part time basis would not make sense.  However, if they don't have 5 days per week of valuable work to be done, do they want to pay them a high CxO type salary just so they have that "commitment" of not having them spend some time at another job?  Seems like a big cost to buy that commitment, particularly when you would lose all of the benefits listed above.

Also, "IP leakage".  This is usually the first concern people list.  But if I own a business and don't trust someone enough to not steal my IP if they work for other businesses at the same time, do I trust them enough to work for me full time?  Not likely!  And it also depends on whether we are talking about specific ideas or general ideas.  If the idea I get from one client is about a better way to motivate staff, does that client really care if I use that idea with my other clients?  Probably not, particularly if they are getting the benefit of the general ideas I am picking up at my others clients and using for them.  The other way to avoid potential conflicts and transfer of valuable IP is to only work with one client in any industry (an obvious strategy, and one I put in writing in my agreements with clients), and where two clients might be in different industries but have dealings with each other, just make sure everyone knows about the relationship.


Okay, I had better stop.  I am not good at writing short posts!  But as one of my favourite quotes goes: "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time".

Anyone want to add to this list, either pros or cons of the role of a "fractional CxO" in small business?

 
Marc.
www.harrisonbc.com