Can firms start with low cost and instant customers?

June 12th, 2009, 1:00 pm · 2 Comments · posted by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

Here’s an entrepreneur’s dream: instant customers as soon as the business starts and a possible buyer for the company if it’s successful.

That’s the intriguing possibility that representatives of Sage Software and Salesforce.com will discuss at TechBiz Connection, 6 - 9 p.m. June 17 at Knobbe Martens, 2040 Main St., second floor, Irvine.

Large software companies are increasingly relying on fostering communities and nurture business ecosystems to be successful, says TechBiz head Jack Bicer, who created Uninstall. Such ecosystems create business opportunities for entrepreneurs to innovate and be part of the value chain.

The program evolved from a recent discussion between Bicer and Sage Vice President Alok Tyagi about how to help entrepreneurs at a time when venture capital and private equity funding has slowed to a trickle and recession is hampering many young companies. They hope this meeting will provide some answers.

“It’s not that hard to start a company; it’s hard to be successful,” Bicer says.

Tyagi says, “Large software companies are increasingly relying on fostering communities and nurture business ecosystems to be successful, and such ecosystemscreate business opportunities for entrepreneurs to innovate and be part of the value chain.”

At the June 17 meeting, Tyagi and Salesforce.com executive Pat Morrissey will talk about some unmet needs within their own companies and among their customers. If you can meet that need, here’s a ready-made market for you.

For exmaple, Salesforce.com, which originally had customer relationship management software, now has the Force.com platform that allows entrepreneurs to build applications and easily present them to the 60,000+ companies that use Salesforce.com software, says Vice President Bruce Francis. It’s faster and cheaper than the traditional startup for a tech firm.

The company developed the system because customers wanted applications that Salesforce.com staff didn’t plan to develop, he says. Why not open it to entrepreneurs to meet those needs and make the platform even bigger and more useful?

“You develop it virtually free. You don’t have to start paying us until you have paying customers,” Francis says. “At a time when credit is scarce and cash is king, things that don’t require you to buy computer systems is great.”

Bicer says, “I’m more excited that you can go into this ecosystem of users and find unmet market needs. The purpose is to spur entrepreneurship.”

Morrissey will give more details about free startup opportunities using the Salesforce.com platform and Tyagi will talk about what Sage is doing to help startups in a down economy.

Cost of the meeting is $30. Click here to register.

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