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RPM-Strategy.com CEO advises Entrepreneurship Club on starting own business
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News
02/26/08 - The University of Rhode Island's Entrepreneurship Club presented CEO of RPM-Strategy.com Bob Panoff to discuss the ups and downs of opening a new business.
While speaking to the Entrepreneurship Club at its weekly meeting, Panoff's main point was that as the founder of a company, one cannot get bogged down with their own ideas while fostering a new company.
In order to be successful, an entrepreneur must be dedicated to the success of the company, and act with the fluidity of the market in their projects, Panoff said.
"You can't be [attached] to any one particular idea," he said. "Most founders and entrepreneurs get so focused on their idea that they do not talk to anyone until its done and they are proud enough to show it.
"You have to engage and get input from as many different sources as possible."
Panoff said the speed at which ideas are produced has increased drastically in the past few years. Instead of working alone in a room all day fixing bugs and fine-tuning the idea and then submitting a business proposal, Panoff said one should instead work on rapid prototyping in order to get one's ideas out quickly and efficiently.
Panoff admitted that starting a business without any capital to start with is extremely difficult but still possible and profitable, but experience is always more important.
"If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to become a subject matter expert in something," he said. "A friend of mine actually started his business in his garage next to a pizza place in Hyannis, which contributed greatly to his success.
"Little by little the company grew, and it eventually went public with $70 million in revenue and was worth $800 million when he finally sold it."
Panoff's company, RPM-Strategy, is a business consultant that originally started off helping small companies develop their strategies, but since then has built up a strong reputation, now serving big-name companies like IBM and Cisco as clients. Panoff said because of his former experience with large companies, he picked up on what he says is their inherent problem, and later began a business to deal with it.
While speaking to the Entrepreneurship Club at its weekly meeting, Panoff's main point was that as the founder of a company, one cannot get bogged down with their own ideas while fostering a new company.
In order to be successful, an entrepreneur must be dedicated to the success of the company, and act with the fluidity of the market in their projects, Panoff said.
"You can't be [attached] to any one particular idea," he said. "Most founders and entrepreneurs get so focused on their idea that they do not talk to anyone until its done and they are proud enough to show it.
"You have to engage and get input from as many different sources as possible."
Panoff said the speed at which ideas are produced has increased drastically in the past few years. Instead of working alone in a room all day fixing bugs and fine-tuning the idea and then submitting a business proposal, Panoff said one should instead work on rapid prototyping in order to get one's ideas out quickly and efficiently.
Panoff admitted that starting a business without any capital to start with is extremely difficult but still possible and profitable, but experience is always more important.
"If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to become a subject matter expert in something," he said. "A friend of mine actually started his business in his garage next to a pizza place in Hyannis, which contributed greatly to his success.
"Little by little the company grew, and it eventually went public with $70 million in revenue and was worth $800 million when he finally sold it."
Panoff's company, RPM-Strategy, is a business consultant that originally started off helping small companies develop their strategies, but since then has built up a strong reputation, now serving big-name companies like IBM and Cisco as clients. Panoff said because of his former experience with large companies, he picked up on what he says is their inherent problem, and later began a business to deal with it.
