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Hi Dave, I use to work for a company that utilized Microsoft's Sharepoint product and wondered how does Clearspace differ? Have you won clients over who originally leveraged Sharepoint?

BTW, I caught your article in Forbes earlier this month, very impressive.

Thanks for listening

Dave, what advice would you give to inspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own business in the high tech industry and attract VC funding? Is it about coming up with an innovative product or is it more about having a strong team?

Dave,

What tips would you have for someone new starting out. I am trying to develop a services company to use software and technology to make it easier for small US companies to export to China and India. Did you envision Jive's growth from the outstart or was it more organic. I am a 2 person type shop today and don't know if I should plan to get huge or let it happen more organically

Dave - congrats on your success - quick question: what communities do you belong to and what do you get out of them?

Basically, our industry was taking off. We had a great product, a great
team, a history of profitability and a strong desire to win, but it was heating
up quickly and we weren't about to cede marketshare to newer players. But to
get the next level, we needed a partner to help us get there....and it's a lot easier to raise money when you don't need it! Sequoia was a
great fit as they've got the best track record in the industry and they could
strengthen our position as the leader. A few of the points on what they (Sequoia) brought
to the table (taken from a blog I wrote):

1. Smart Growth: They allow us to think big and grow in the
right ways. We now have the ability to make investments that support our larger
goals, such as acquiring a key technology or investing in remote offices.

2. Recruiting: As the growth continues, making sure you get
the right senior leadership on board is paramount, and a good investment partner
can attract great talent.

3. Partners: We've done a great job building relationships
with the likes of SAP and Oracle, but there's a lot more opportunity out there.
Sequoia not only knows the right people, but is well-connected to the rapidly
changing needs of those potential partners.

4. Mgmt assistance: We've got a great management team in
place, but having such a stellar set of coaches helping you out makes a big
difference. These folks have seen these challenges many times before, but are
still open to creativity and not treating the business plan as a formula.

5. Advisors/board: As we build out the board and advisory
board, they can help think through and attract the right folks.

6. Guidance: If we ultimately decide to take the company
public, or if the company were ever to get acquired (not a goal of ours and not
something we're pursuing), these guys are the ones we want to have in our
corner.

So we felt like it was the best route for us -- bootstrap until things exploded, then raise the money to make sure we aggressively captured the market.

Community,

Remember to refresh your browsers often to see the most recent post.

Thanks!

With Jive, we always wanted to go big, but we had to be patient for the
market to come around to these ideas. We made some mistakes, went down some
paths that didn't work, but ultimately got it right. However, if we had just
tried to go big from day one and bring on a lot of folks, it would have gone
sideways as we just didn't have the product or the market yet. So if it is one's
goal to grow a "great company" (like as defined in Good to Great), then I think
there's got to be a very focused, deliberate investigation into how that growth
would really play out. It also helps to have smart advisors who can help you
see into the future and understand how to get it done -- hard to find those folks, but they can make a huge difference.