One of the Eccles School’s newest professors, David Bradford, has a superpower.
He can’t leap buildings in a single bound or see through walls using x-ray vision. He has the ability to do something even cooler: build billion-dollar businesses.
Bradford, who joined the Eccles School faculty this semester, has created successful business after business – from Novell to Fusion-io to HireVue.
He has a formula for building such successful technology businesses. Here are the five steps you should take:
5 Steps to build a billion dollar business
1) Have a breakthrough value proposition. You need to have an idea that is truly breakthrough, he said. Having a unique idea that fills a market need is key to a successful venture.
2) Hire the right people. Find people who have passion, knowledge and expertise.
3) Take on marquee accounts. Get companies such as Facebook to use your product. That kind of advertising can’t be bought.
4) Have the capital. You have to spend money to make money. Make sure you have the funding in place, and a plan to continue to grow that money.
5) Take Bradford’s class. Want to really understand what it takes to make a hugely successful business? Sign up for Bradford’s “Entrepreneurship and Society” undergraduate class. It might turn out to be the best personal investment you’ve ever made.