Guru Advice for Startup Companies by Jim Pinto

Many new companies are started by unemployed or dissatisfied people. Being an owner in an enterprise is perhaps the biggest satisfaction that any job can provide. If you're considering a startup, or have already launched your own company, here's some guru advice which may help.

I'm an engineer, and some 35 years ago when I started Action Instruments, I went to the top engineering gurus - engineers themselves, who were surprisingly accessible. Here's their advice that inspired me:

John Fluke, Founder of Fluke Manufacturing (now part of Danaher): "Good people make good products, which make a good profit."
Two engineers, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, started the ultimate engineering company, Hewlett-Packard, in the proverbial garage. Bill Hewlett's advice: "Understand the numbers. Engineers forget things like margins and profit. What you measure, you can control."
Dave Packard said: "People are the keys. Without good people, you have nothing."
Andy Grove, former Intel chief wrote: "Only the paranoid survive." Read his book and keep it around when you're running your own company.

Here's my own advice: Hire intelligent, passionate people and make them owners to keep them motivated.

Read my article in the latest (May 2007) issue of Automation world.

Guru Advice For Start-Up Companies

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