1. When Asked To
Kickstart
Product Managers as Intrapreneurs
Itzik Adziashvili

2. “We are what we repeatedly do…”
I repeatedly built new businesses, products and
teams working for organisations
Aristotle

3. About me
Intrapreneur
AGT Int. <= 3i-MIND
New products: Public Sector - SmartCity IOT & Analytics
New products: Public Sector - Decision Support
Neustar <= Followup
New product: Telecom - IMS Network Element
Polycom <= MeetU
New product: Enterprise - Web Collaboration Service
IDF
New product: IT - Data warehouse
kartisim.co.il
New product: Internet - eCommerce

4. "A person within a large corporation who takes direct
responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished
product through assertive risk-taking and innovation".
Wikipedia Citing The American Heritage Dictionary
“Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an
entrepreneur while working within a large organisation.”
Wikipedia
"A person within an organisation who assumes direct
responsibility for turning an idea into a product through
innovation".
Itzik Adziashvili :)

5. E vs. I
Intraprenuer Entreprenuer
Founders You Mostly A Team
Idea Mostly Not Yours Mostly Yours / Team
Funding Not A Big Problem (Mostly) Big Problem
Coolness Who’s Heard of You? Can It Be Cooler?
Commitment Oh Yeh Oh Yeh
Ecosystem Adapt Create
Politics Can’t Get Worse Founders, Investors
Success Sponsor Expectations Your Expectations
Reward Incremental Aim for Life Changing
Risk Time, Career Time, Money, Career

6. Product Manager are a Natural
Choice as Intrapreneurs
Past leadership experience?
Have commercial competence (MBA)?
Past tech experience / domain expertise?
Have a “Can Execute” image?
Can navigate the corporate politics?
A potential Intraprenuer!

7. Example #1

8. Some Background
Startup with $$$ trying to expand on
the back of a BIG project
Young kid big body
Visionary demanding founder
Trusted management team

9. My starting point
I had no clue where to start…
Newbie - Hired for the job
I received 1 slide as key concept +
some docs
I had “absolute” freedom
I was told “money is not an issue”!

10. My Key KPIs
Time, Cost, Customers
Time to first
customer
Time to first
product
Time to second
customer
Cost to second
customer
No Hitchhikers!

11. My exit point
After 9 months
With $2m
bookings
2 customers in
delivery
7 man
commando team
Created a
strategic asset
Created a
product line

12. NO & YES
NO: For core product services / more bodies
for acceleration
NO: For shooting for the stars with a slingshot
NO: For getting an elephant as my first
customer
YES: For market access and sales
YES: For stepping stone strategy 80%-20%

13. My Team
Lean and Mean 7: Built To Last
All producers, No QA, Flat, Rotating role based
leadership
Tapped on my network to draw core team
Got Lucky hiring top of the line CTO - Wing Man
Selected and controlled my service suppliers
Used corporate services for: Finance, Legal,
Markom, Sales and BD, myself as POC

14. Example #2

15. My starting point
Mission Impossible
Capture and deliver a landmark project as
your first customer
The illusion of freedom
Competition is world class
It had strategic importance to the company
Money is not an issue! (OMG Again)

16. My exit point
24 months, & $$$, many MY invested
Captured and delivered a landmark
project
Redefined company’s core strategy

17. Bad & Good
BAD: Setup, Control
Span, Definition of
Success
BAD: Corporate Politics
Bad: Corporate
Commitment
Bad: Elephant as first
customer
Good: delivered,
Customers Happy
Good: strategic
assets
Good: Budgetary
Freedom
Good: Landing
Beach

18. My Team
Built for a Sprint
100+ employees assembled from multiple
corporate functions
Front end Core Team, Back-office COO
Used corporate services for: Finance, Legal,
Markom, Sales, Supply Chain

19. Summary and
Takeaways

20. Key takeaways
No Cookie-cutter but…
Agree on what is success upfront!
Make Sure you can say no!
Select your first customer wisely!
The bigger it is, the more chances of failure
Select a region / market that will invest time for you
Do not do it alone!
Team - Make / Break; Wing man to complement you
Sale! Communicate vision, here to there constantly
Money is always an issue! :)

21. So Intrapreneur -
yes or no?
Done well, chances are you create something NEW
and may end up managing BUs and companies
But it comes with a price -
Pressure, frustrations, long hours
Sole accountability, Not Mr. Nice Guy
80% of your time spend on noise
Politics is a MUST

22. it’s not a job, it’s a passion

23. Thank U!
adziashvili@gmail.com