Marvin Scaff, Vice president, business development, Cerebit Inc., St. Petersburg
By KRIS HUNDLEY
Published September 29, 2003
Q. You have been involved with a number of tech startups here and in Silicon Valley. What's the biggest mistake made by entrepreneurs?
Hiring the wrong people. The culture of a startup is most important, and we made mistakes at Kinetoscope (Scaff's first company). I've tried to coach Basit (Hussain, founder of Cerebit) about being careful whom he brings onto the team, both employees and investors. I look for people who are really passionate. You want people who have attitude and ability, but attitude is more important. You want them thirsty for knowledge.
Q. With venture money nearly nonexistent, have entrepreneurs put their dreams on hold? Or are you seeing some signs of re-emergence?
I think it's starting to get better. Last quarter more venture deals got funded. But it's harder too because the due diligence process is longer. Investors want to see customer validation; they're not investing in concepts anymore.
At Cerebit, we haven't really tried to find money. We're internally funded so far and our strategy is to get four to six reference-able customers for our software, then let them go out and speak on our behalf to potential investors. We expect to be at that stage at the beginning of the year.
Q. You said you put one of your startups, Abeama, on hold when you were unable to raise money during the tech meltdown. When do you know it's time to fold your tent and go home?
You pound your head against a wall so long it feels good when you stop. Perseverance and tenacity are the most important attributes for an entrepreneur. With Abeama, the technology that company developed is just now becoming viable. But pioneers and visionaries always have arrows in their back. And in the last few months, there have actually been some inquiries about Abeama's technology. The intellectual property is still there. It's just kind of orphaned for now.
