Thoughts about Starting a Technology Business: Introduction

Introduction
Although this blog is to be more about how to use information systems to manage complex, high tempo businesses, Graham Royce kindly invited me to make a presentation to the kick-off session for the 2009/2010 participants at the Limerick Institute of Technology's LEAP Program, which he runs. I though it might be a good first post on the things I have learned so far about trying to start a technology business, and it might also serve as something of an introduction to myself.

When asked to speak to the LEAP participants, I felt the most useful thing I could do would be to share the lessons that it has taken me longest to learn so far, and that in the life of my company, Fraysen Systems, have caused the most problems.

About Me
My name is Finbar Gallagher. I founded Fraysen Systems, where we develop Pervasive Operational Intelligence systems, in February 2002 after spending 12 years with Hewlett Packard in Manufacturing Engineering in their Medical Products and Inkjet Supplies divisions and then 2 years at Tellabs' R&D operation in Shannon, Ireland, where latterly I was responsible for development of one of their European cross-connect products. I hold a Bachelor's in Engineering from Trinity College, Dublin, and a Master's in Systems Engineering from Boston University.

I started Fraysen Systems as a technologist from a multinational background with some excellent companies. I believed that experience gave me a good appreciation of business and people management as well as my technical abilities. I felt I had a good idea and was well equipped to succeed. Starting Fraysen was a long held goal of mine -- I started saving seed capital for the project12 years before I incorporated the company, and chose the name all the way back in 1998.

Three Problems
Having said all of the above about business and people experience, you will be interested that the aspects of starting up a business that I have found most challenging are Business, in particular Marketing and Sales, and People! For those of you who are Sales and Marketing professionals, I'm sorry if my observations seem obvious. I can only speak for myself when I say they weren't obvious to me, and I have met enough Engineers to suspect that they aren't necessarily obvious to other members of my profession either!