Macquarie Institute for Innovation

Father of Venture Capital: General George Doriot

There isn't a company in existence that a Harvard MBA couldn't analyse out of existence.

General George Doriot, head of American R and D Corp., investor in Digital Equipment Corporation and acknowledged father of venture capital in the U.S.

Computer Industry Pioneer:
Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper

Resistance to Change

Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, 'We've always done it this way'. I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise.

Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, American computer scientist and naval officer.

General George Patton

I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.

General George Patton, leading U.S. Army general in World War II.

Software Engineer and Computer Scientist:
Professor Frederick Brooks

Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later

The Mythical Man-Month, Professor Frederick P Brooks Jr, Addison Wesley, 1975.

Entrepreneur: Jennifer Zanich

Taking your business to the U.S

You need a US beachhead (US customers, US partners and US personnel in the US)

Your successes in Australia don't necessarily count here…US customers need to know why they should do business with you.

It is very difficult to win a US customer without a local presence. US customers want to see a commitment of resources and effort to the local market to develop a comfort that your company will be around for the long term.

Demonstration of success with other US customers is also important. Australian customer names have little meaning or relevance, even those as big as Telstra.

Jennifer Zanich, CEO of Wedgetail Communications.