Consultants as Entrepreneurs?

Hey All-

I've recently moved into the world of Venture Capital! Kind of a peculiar move... I most recently owned (and sold) a web applications development firm.

One of my theories as a VC is that consultants are an untapped resource for entrepreneurship. I can't remember how many times we'd create a custom application for a customer and say to ourselves, "Damn, if we only had a few months to tune this application and make it a bit more portable, we'd have a hell of a product on our hands..." Of course, as a consulting shop, you seldom have the luxury to take your best guys and put them on a non-billable project for several months.

So, we generally didn't pursue the ideas any further. I knew a few companies who would throw their "bench" guys at projects like this (essentially whichever production guys they didn't have actively engaged with a client), but the "revolving-door" team that resulted from this strategy didn't exactly result in a cohesive effort.

I know if an angel investor had come down (from wherever they lurk!) and offered us $100k to tune the product in exchange for some ownership, we would've jumped at the chance.

So, as I ponder ways to get high quality startup ideas flowing in my direction, I'm turning to consultants as one potential source. I gotta figure that the best consultants are itching to make something great, and are frustrated by clients who don't generally have the vision or the budget to make a fabulous product...

Does the idea of marketing capital to technology consultants seem like a solid one? Or am I just channeling my experience as a consultant?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Regards,

 

Sounds like a smart approach to me. Gonna be difficult finding those diamonds in the rough is all.

 

You have hit the nail right on the head.

I face the same issue time and time again as I consult with my clients. As you walk out the door when the project is over you leave thinking, "I could do amazing things with this."

Oh well, that's the reason I am a consultant though. Life loses objectivity when you are in the trenches I think. I am afraid that if I venture into industry then I will become bored.

I am focusing a small amount of time on entrepreneurial endeavors in my spare time, but anymore to really make a go of it you need to be able to put in lots of work.

Good luck with your VC efforts.

 

A word from me, a smart move ! Go on !

 

I think a big problem is that guys who make $200K+ a year are the ones who you want. Most guys I know in that position won't take time off to work on a project - not full time anyways.

It will be a tough sell, but if you can convince them that the company will be well run, hours and time off will be flexible, and there is a convincing business plan in place you might just make it work. I think the key is that you have to get people to take it on as an additional project instead of a replacement job.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

Yaw, unfortunately, the best consultants are wildly successful... So why the heck would they give it up?

My hope is that they'd give it up because they want to build something great. I found (as a successful consultant) that I generally didn't feel like I was able to make anything truly great... Well, every once in a while, we'd pull it off. But usually the client had a budget that was too low, a schedule that was too rushed, or a client that meddled with the process enough that the end result wasn't great.

My hope is to find people who care less about money and more about building something truly great!

One of the best essays that I've seen about the line between custom software development (consulting) versus product development is by Joel (of Joel on Software fame) and it's called "Hitting the High Notes".

Anyhoo, thanks again for the feedback!

Regards,