Dominic Orr, CEO of Aruba Networks, observes a significant difference between going public in the post dot-com boom era in comparison to the actual boom. Orr argues that in the post-bubble era investors are much more thoughtful and analytical.

Transcript



I've done this twice, once in 1999, and once in 2007, eight years apart. First of all, I'd like to comment on the dramatic environment between when I took Alteon public, and Aruba. In 1999, the mood was so vibrant, right? And then you always go for this IPO roadshow, you go into Boston and Fidelity and New York, all these big banks. And all those big black limos, triple parked. You cannot even go down there. And when you go up there, and you see the portfolio manager come in, he has not even read your SEC file, and so on. All he or she wanted was to sit there, to look really smart and then want to get a big allocation, they can flip it and sell it next day. So this time around, people actually read through everything, there's lots of parking space, you can just walk up there and. And if you want to stay behind, they even ask you for lunch. So they want to understand. They clearly have marked up the so-called S1 document, a lot of analysis about your core competency, how you can stand, and your business model and so on. So, much more thoughtful investing. So that is an important fact, to answer your pre-public versus post-public operations. Because of all these very thoughtful investment mentality, you really have to stick to what you tell them in your IPO roadshow, what is your vision, what is your business core competence and how do you drive that core competence into a business model of gross profit and net profit. And it makes you just have to think much harder, rather than just go. It's not just speed, it's thoughtful speed, right?

1. Transferring Big Company Culture to Startups
2. Competing with Giants: It's All About Speed
3. Differences between Going Public in the Dot-com and Post Dot-com Eras
4. Private versus Public Company Tradeoffs: Building Credibility
5. Seeking Advice and Guidance as a CEO
6. Working With and Making Decisions with Great People
7. Work-Life Balance for Driven People
8. Silicon Valley Compared to the World
9. Differences between Student Life and Professional Life
10. Challenges in Cracking Big Markets
11. Selling High-Tech Products and Services to an Executive Team
12. Lessons from Applying the HP Way to Startups
13. The Benefits of Advanced Technical Training

Lecture by Dominic Orr on Entrepreneurship for Stanford University students on October 17, 2007. Dominic Orr, CEO of Aruba Networks, describes his experience applying the HP way to a startup environment. Orr speaks about his focus on giving people freedom and trust which in turn sparks the passion and confidence that drives innovation.



Course Details:

- Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Lecture

- Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner (ecorner)



Original Course Name: Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Lecture.