Why do great companies get built during downturns?

1. It makes them strong.
2. Darwin is at work. Only really good ideas can raise capital when times are tough. Too many companies spending energy in a nascent market is distracting and destroys value.
3. You can hire great people. People make the company.
4. They also make more money for investors and employees.
5. You catch the wave. By the time the market turns around, your product is solid, your knowledge is deep, and you have a jump on future competitors.

Our previous company, Airespace, was started at the bottom of the Dot-com bust. 2002-2003 were scary years. Would the market ever turn around for enterprise technology? We fundamentally believed it would and that WiFi was the next big wave. In 2004, we grew from $4M USD to $44M USD in revenue (turnover). In 2005, Cisco acquired Airespace for $450M USD.

Our new company, MobileIron, builds software for smartphones in the enterprise. We steadfastly believe smartphones are the next big wave. We focus on customers, hire committed entrepreneurs, and are ruthlessly cost conscious. We spend money on building the best product. Our conference tables are old doors set on filing cabinets. We found our desks for free on Craigslist. We sublease our office space. We make our cash last.

The winners in a downturn are those who have a quiet confidence in what will be. They frugally build their company, perfect their idea, and catch the wave when the market turns. Those that come later miss a valuable formative experience. And, worse yet, they get the leftovers.

Have courage. Have fun.

Bob Tinker
CEO, MobileIron Inc
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
www.mobileiron.com