Hardware Podcasts

#049 - RERUN - Elements of building a successful tech business, with (proven) serial entrepreneur Milton Chang of Incubic Venture Fund, USA

The Hardware Entrepreneur · 28 Feb 2018 · 39m

What this episode covers

Serial entrepreneur and Incubic Venture Fund managing partner Milton Chang explains why founders should start niche businesses modestly and bootstrap rather than chasing hot fields with rapid growth. He contrasts his bootstrapping of Newport and New Focus with the capital-intensive nature of scaling, arguing that early acquisition is often a better financial return than a difficult IPO. Chang emphasizes that success requires deep industry expertise, capital efficiency, and a 'self-actualizing' organizational culture that synchronizes employee needs with company goals. He also discusses how photonics serves as an enabler for healthcare and other industries, and offers advice on avoiding common pitfalls for academic founders.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Incubic Venture Fund, Newport, New Focus, JDSU, Aurrion, MBio Diagnostics, YesVideo, Protein Fluidics, Juniper Networks
Also
Toward Entrepreneurship, Caltech

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