Measuring & Delivering Energy Savings

Our client  is a leading energy software company founded in 2007. Based in Boston, MA and privately held, The Company has developed patent-pending technology that enables them to retrieve utility data on behalf of virtually any household in America. Utilizing that technology, the company is the richest residential energy efficiency platform available today, and serves both customers and a variety of institutions that care about energy efficiency with its platform and the technology that underlies it. Its platform helps people to understand their energy use and be incentivized to save, as well as enables individuals to interact with and track their electric, gas, and water usage online.

The Position

The CTO/VP Engineering’s role is to oversee day to day activities of the software product development team for all of Company offerings. The role will build out and directly supervise a team of architects, software developers, quality assurance, and business analysts; identify risk and opportunity areas; and coordinate all software development activities.

This role will also work closely with Product Strategy and manage the Lead Technical Architect to envision and define features in the product roadmap and be accountable for the features development, deployment and support.  In addition to the technical leadership of the team, this role will have full management responsibility and oversight for a cross-functional group of engineering and quality assurance personnel.

Reporting directly to the CEO, the VP Engineering shall:

The successful candidate must also have the ability and experience to lead a multi-disciplined organization in a multi-location environment.

Qualifications

Essential Job Functions/Responsibilities

Ideal Candidate Profile

The diagram below illustrates the intersection of competencies critical in the position:

How & What Growth-stage CEOs Are Ending 2011 & Planning for 2012

Below is the hyperlink to take the Q4 CEO peers speed-survey, exclusively for growth-stage CEOs. This survey focuses on “How & What Growth-stage CEOs are Ending 2011 & Planning for 2012″

This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes of a busy CEO’s time–

We here at BSG Team Ventures periodically take the temperature of the markets we serve. The survey is no more than 15 questions, most simple multiple-choice.

These surveys are created and compiled by BSG Team Ventures as a courtesy to our executive ecosystem with the belief that knowledge is power. Aggregated peer-provided knowledge is “actionable power.”

To compare how you’re feeling a year later with the survey results from Q4 2010, titled “CEOs Plan for 2011”, go to http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/q4-2010-ceo-survey-of-growth-stage-companies/

We make an effort to survey only those who fit the category (in this case, sitting CEOs or board member/founders of technology/science-driven growth-stage companies). [Note, if you don't fit the aforementioned description, please refrain from responding.]

Feel free to forward to the qualified CEOs in your sphere of influence. The more data generated, the more accurate the trend lines.

All responses are anonymous due to the web-based survey technology employed.

We will forward the survey results within the next two weeks to the email address on file. Please let us know if there is another email address you wish us to send the results to as well.

The Company

Securing Business

The Company is one of the largest global providers of IT-security solutions and IT-Services with a focus on consulting, implementation and services.

The Company has offices in 8 countries – UK, Germany, USA, France, Switzerland, Austria, United Arab Emirates and Singapore with around 500 employees. The Company has more than 3,500 blue-chip customers and a range of government agencies.

Offerings include:

• Consulting in all aspects of IT-Security

• Continuous development of a holistic IT-Security Service Portfolio via our Managed Security Service Center and Call Center

• Close relationship with the key product vendors

• Holistic portfolio of IT-Security Solutions and Products

The Position

As a key member of the Americas executive team, the VP Sales will be the primary owner and driver of revenues for the Company, responsible for selling Managed and Professional Services (MAPS) solutions keying off of its core overlapping areas of service excellence:

o Data Protection

o Mobility

o Threats & Vulnerabilities

o Risk & Compliance (GRC)

o Cloud (securing the cloud)

The VP Sales will be part of the senior operating team for the Americas with principal responsibilities including:

• Exceed quarterly and annual revenue targets

• Develop & execute strategic sales and distribution plan: provide strategic and tactical thinking, as well as broad business insight. Take a leadership role in developing the sales strategy to support the growth of the business, while continuing to drive gross margins, quarterly bookings goals, and other KPIs

• Peer with the Professional Services team on client prospecting, engagement, and delivery

• Divisional revenue ownership

• Sales team-building

• Sales leadership and sales pipeline management

• Develop and managing detailed budgeting & forecasting

• Lead the management, maintenance & development of key partnerships in upstream indirect sales channels

• Foster teamwork and create a positive work environment for a geographically disparate sales force

• Lead and develop a dynamic and creative sales infrastructure that fits the needs of the business and the products the Company provides to its customers

• Drive internal discussion about strategies, ideas, new opportunities and the best methods for achieving success in a changing marketplace

• Consult with customers on their needs and provide feedback to other departments supporting sales efforts

• Forecast, track and report sales performance using internal tools and applications such as Salesforce.com

• Conduct internal pipeline meetings and reviews with the executive team

• Manage overall budget associated with sales plan

• Lead team in structuring strategic and integrated partnerships with key customers

• Personally assist in closing large deals and managing strategic accounts

• Travel as needed to ensure that sales and client needs are met and exceeded

Ideal Candidate Profile

The diagram below illustrates a comprehensive intersection of competencies critical in the VP Sales position:

Team

Reporting to the President of the Americas, the VP Sales currently manages and leads a sales team of 11.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive with the position’s requirements. In a performance-based environment, this will include base salary and incentive bonus structure based on both individual and company milestones.

Early in this decade, post-2000 recession, the mobile applications market had developed a reputational black eye– all sizzle, no steak.  The promise of revenues, followed by profits had not materialized, despite much venture capital investment in the mobile space.  The beginnings of GPS-enabled smart phones arrived, and slowly, the market started to deliver on it’s promise.  The confluence of GPS-enbabled location-based capabilities, the introduction of Apple’s iPhone that brought ease of use to the consumer masses, and the rise of Web 2.0 now leviathans like Facebook and Twittter finally brought the mobile market to a rolling boil in 2007 and 2008, just before the last U.S. economic recession.  What’s in store now that the economy seems to be thawing out, where is mobile headed next?

The challenge is getting the mobile landscape to stand still long enough to analyze it.  It changes. Often. And fast.  Domination of the mobile platform began with Palm early on, then to Blackberry, then Microsoft’s smart phone OS, only to be wrestled away by Apple’s iPhone, and most recently challenged by Google’s Android platform.  Word has it that at a recent developers’ conference, developers could join any of 3 breakout groups divided by OS development platform–  Apple, Android and Microsoft mobile OS.  The largest group assembled in the Android breakout room, second largest in the Apple room, and Microsoft’s audience was, well…. intimate.

So, in such a turbulent marketplace, what soothsayers to listen to for credible framing of the mobile future?  It turns out that it is none other than Mary Meeeker, newly minted venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins.  For those who were around for the initial rise of the Internet in the late 1990’s, Mary Meeker rose in parallel to the popularity of the Internet as star industry research analyst for Morgan Stanley covering the Internet sector.  I have a fond memory of watching Ms. Meeker work the stage, the audience, and the room at an Industry Standard conferene out at the Dana Point Ritz Carlton before the bubble burst.  I should have known that a private fireworks display better than Boston’s annual 4th of July extravaganza that was put on especially for conference attendees was a jump-the-shark moment for the Internet.

However, Ms. Meeker has never been light on analysis.  And her most recent run at foretelling the future of the mobile market sector is worth the read. She debuted it at the Google mobile conference in February.  Although long (56 slides), it’s worth the gray matter investment.  TechCrunch has reposted it, and highlighted what they felt the most impactful slides in the deck are.  Check it out.  Really good stuff.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/10/meeker-mobile-slides/

The Position

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Vice President of Marketing will play a senior leadership role within the management team, overseeing all branding, customer acquisition, public relations, and channel marketing efforts.

Core Responsibilities: This position will be responsible for the overall success of the Company’s consumer offering, including user acquisition/adoption/retention and general management of the brand.   The VP Marketing will build a business-to-consumer marketing function focused on the customer experience. He/she will also identify opportunities for increasing value and optimizing revenue growth and will ensure consistency in messaging across integrated marketing channels.

The VP Marketing will lead the Company’s  strategic and tactical consumer marketing initiatives and will assist with the development of the overall corporate strategy, vision, messaging, and product direction. He/she will be responsible for the creation of an innovative marketing strategy and outreach program for the Company.  He/she will also act as a key external evangelist for the company when called upon.

Specific responsibilities include:

Qualifications & Experience

Skills & Personal Characteristics

Ideal Candidate Profile

The following diagram illustrates the intersection of competencies critical in the VP Marketing position:

Each quarter we survey growth stage CEOs who are running innovation driven companies.  This quarter,  we had more than 60 CEOs responding.  CEOs were running companies in broadly defined technology (software, hardware, semiconductor, telecom), Internet (e-commerce, media, social, entertainment), medical devices, biotech, and cleantech / renewable energy sectors.

A note on methodology.  We send these surveys only to those who fit the category (in this case, sitting CEOs or board member/founders of technology/science-driven growth-stage companies).    All responses were anonymous due to the web-based survey technology employed. The majority of respondents were in the United States, with the highest concentration on the East and West coasts (New York, Boston, and San Francisco/Silicon Valley areas).

For prior survey results from Q2 2010, titled “Impact of Economy and Renewed Growth”, go to http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/ceo-survey-results-q2-2010-%e2%80%93-impact-of-economy-renewed-growth/ .

ECONOMIC CLIMATE

The first set of questions was around the economic conditions in which each CEO felt s/he was operating.    One question we continue to ask and re-ask over the last six quarters or so targets the turbulence in the macro- economic climate.  It is interesting to compare CEO responses to the same question, “Do you anticipate a double dip in the near term future?”

* In Q3 2009, more than half  (54%) of CEOs polled were expecting a double dip, and planning accordingly

* In our Q2 2010 survey,  again 50% felt a second economic correction was likely, the biggest percentage of those CEOs believing it would be in either Q3 2010 or sometime in 2011.  The other half  of CEOs felt the specter of recession was behind them

* Currently in Q4 CEOs were consistent with prior quarters with a bit more than 50% indicating they didn’t feel a double dip was likely, and the other half of the CEOs saying either a 50/50 probability or greater (16% feeling more likely than not)

So less than 1 in 5 CEOs feel another economic dip is likely.  No CEOs selected the ” greater than 75%” probability.

It’s interesting to do a meta graph of the changing CEO sentiment on this question.  Surprisingly, the graph would be sloping downward, but not as much as many would hope.  The high point was certainly back in Q3 2009, but even throughout 2010, as many CEOs were fearful of a negative correction as those who felt it was behind us.  No doubt this “lack of confidence” index doesn’t inspire the CEO with a swashbuckling, damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead attitude toward growing their companies.  Rather, it makes CEOs think in short-term windows, perhaps 3 months at a time, with little appetite to make medium or long-term bets.

Those CEOs who felt another downturn was likey referenced several factors that might tip the scales negative–  gridlock in Congress due to midterm elections and likelihood that Democrats lose congressional majority, a belief that a bad Q4 holiday retail shopping was likely, and the persistent overhang of ongoing commercial and residential loan defaults.

As for when another economic dip might occur if it were to occur, the vast majority of CEOs pointed to Q1, 2011, with Q4 of this year and Q2 2011 tying for second at 18% each.

STRATEGY

Almost 50% of CEOs polled said that they had either made a shift in strategy in 2010, or were planning to in the near future.  Granted, growth-stage companies are prone to shifting strategy until they land upon the best formula for significant and sustainable growth.  However ~50% is a big number, and clearly a chunk of those companies have been driven to rethink their strategies because of the challenging economic climate, the concern over the future, and the possibility that 2010 might represent “the new normal” where with no economic “rising tide” no help generated to float all company boats as in periods of economic expansion in the past (1997-2000, 2005-2008, etc).

CASH FLOW

The majority of CEO survey respondents (49%) indicated that they were still planning on burning cash over the next 2 quarters.  24% indicated they would be profitable.  CEO comments regarding this question indicated an overwhelming drive toward cash flow break even.  That was the big push and focus for their companies in 2010, and if they hadn’t achieved it yet, they were gunning to by end of the first quarter of 2011.  CEOs also commented that they were trying to run their companies at break even, with any extra EBIT being reinvested back into the company for additional growth.

COST REDUCTION PLANS

When asked what were the top 3 areas CEOs were targeting for cost reduction, the following table summarizes their responses, representing a combination of spend reduction and staff reduction in non-core areas.  There was a preference by CEOs to favor non-staff cuts over cutting headcount if at all possible, but many acknowledged that in order to make meaningful cuts, staff had  to be considered in the equation.

CEO responses when asked about increasesin spend were logical.  The top three in order were sales, marketing, and R&D.  Many of the comments about this question noted the fact that outside of directly growing revenues, additional spend was hard to build in when many CEOs are driving toward a minimum cash-neutral mandate and economic uncertainties are driving CEOs to think conservatively rather than expansively.

[Click on "more" below for remaining 8 slides and narrative from Q4 2010 CEO survey]

RAISING CAPITAL

The largest segment of CEO survey respondents (40%) listed themselves as having raised capital in the last 12 months, and also planning on raising additional equity in the coming 12.  For those who indicated “other,” most of these CEOs had raised capital quite a while ago (2 or more years ago), were at cash flow positive, and some who were looking at liquidity event in the next few quarters, subject to market conditions.

OUTSOURCING & OFFSHORING

A quarter of CEOs surveyed responded that they were unlikely to ever use/need outsourcing or offshore resources to grow their businesses.

However, almost 70% of CEOs were using some combination of outsourced resources, whether domestic or offshore, full-time or project-based.  Those CEOs using domestic resources were the largest segment at 22%, while those with full-time offshore resources tallied at about 14%.  Nearly one in four CEOs had used contract (non-full-time) outsourced resources in the last 12 months.  A number of CEOs highlighted the fact that although they were users of offshore staff in some capacity, it was difficult to “get right,” and often the experience was less than positive early on in the relationship and took a great deal of work before CEOs could declare it truly accretive.

In answer to where global outsourced/offshore resources were being most utilized, manufacturing, product development, and customer service were the three biggest areas.  One in 5 CEOS (20%)  had already established an international sales presence located abroad.

GROWTH-COMPANY CLIMATE

Do CEOs feel it will be harder to grow companies in the future than in the recent past?  This is a question that many entrepreneurs who look to undertake a new venture (and venture capitalists looking to invest in them) are often quick to ask.

CEO responses were much more evenly distributed than one might think– slightly greater than a third of CEOs indicate “about the same” difficulty, a bit less than a third feel “somewhat more difficult,” and 27% indicating that they thought it would likely be “easier in the next 5 vs. the last 5 years.”  Many of the comments of CEOs responding “easier” pointed to the fact that advances in technology have allowed entrepreneurs to stand up companies for less cash and a lot faster than in years past.   Those CEOs who said it would be harder all pointed to the capital markets, and the medium-term challenges in both raising capital, and achieving liquidity.

DEBT LENDER APPETITE

CEOs were closely split on the question of whether debt has been harder, easier, or about the same to procure in the last few quarters.  37% indicated about the same,  33% responded that it feels worse, and 27% conceded that it appeared easier to get debt now than in the trailing 6 months or so.  However, CEOs commented that even if debt lending had stayed the same or improved slightly in the last six months, over the last year or two lenders have tightened up a great deal, and the lending climate today compared to 2008 is substantially worse.

FEDERAL POLICY IMPACTS

More than three-quarters of CEOs surveyed indicated that there was no impact on their companies due to  changes in federal policy, be it pending capital gains changes, mandatory healthcare, or potential tax increases.  Of those CEOs who did register an impact, the majority (10%) indicated that they would be offsetting any negative impact via headcount reduction.

CEO comments focused on the negative impact of rising healthcare costs as the biggest contributor to any decisions they were considering that were directly attributable to federal policy changes.

EQUITY INVESTOR APPETITE

CEO respondents reported that they saw equity investors as having become more bearish in their investing, with almost 37% holding that opinion.  In contrast, more than 25% of CEOs felt investors appear more willing to put money to work in the next two quarters than in recent past.  CEOs commented that investors don’t want to put money into B rounds, and the investing profile “is a barbell– 259,000 angels poured $17.6 billion into more than 57,000 startups last year, and there are a number of very well funded late-stage private equity firms looking to put $20-$40 million to work per opportunity. But almost nothing in between.”  Other comments indicated that even though investors may be more interested in putting their money to work, those same investors are squeezing valuations harder than ever and their expectations for return are increasingly difficult to meet as an operating CEO.

PRIMARY SURVEY INDUSTRY SECTORS

Of the 50+ CEOs who responded, 25% were running software companies, 16% cleantech, 15$ biotech, 10% interactive media/Internet, and 4% medical devices.  Much of the other 32% of CEO respondents were in the services sector across various industry sectors.

Location of the Companies Surveyed

The majority of responding CEOs were from the New England region (66%), 10% of CEOs’ companies were located in the Rocky Mountain region, with smaller numbers in Northern California (2%), Canada (4%) and the UK( 2%).

TOPIC: How & What Growth-stage CEOs Are Planning for 2011

Below is the hyperlink to take the Q4 CEO peers speed-survey, exclusively for growth-stage CEOs.  This survey focuses on “How & What Growth-stage CEOs are Planning for 2011″

This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes of a busy CEO’s time–

We here at BSG Team Ventures periodically take the temperature of the markets we serve. The survey is no more than 15 questions, most simple multiple-choice.

These surveys are created and compiled by BSG Team Ventures as a courtesy to our executive ecosystem with the belief that knowledge is power.  Aggregated peer-provided knowledge is “actionable power.”

For the survey results from Q2 2010, titled “Impact of Economy & Renewed Growth Planning”, go to http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/ceo-survey-results-q2-2010-%E2%80%93-impact-of-economy-renewed-growth/

We make an effort to survey only those who fit the category (in this case, sitting CEOs or board member/founders of technology/science-driven growth-stage companies). [Note, if you don't fit the aforementioned description, please refrain from responding.]

Feel free to forward to the qualified CEOs in your sphere of influence. The more data generated, the more accurate the trend lines.

All responses are anonymous due to the web-based survey technology employed.

We will forward the survey results within the next two weeks to the email address on file. Please let us know if there is another email address you wish us to send the results to as well.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/what-americans-do-online-social-media-and-games-dominate-activity/

Nielsen reported a few days ago on Internet usage in the U.S.  Although intuitive to many of us, it offers numeric confirmation of the fundamental shift in user habits online.

Social networks/blogs were where we spent the most time (906 million hours in aggregate for the month of June).  Second place went to online games, at a little less than that (407 million hours), and e-mail–the bastion of baby boomers but shunned widely by X, Y, and Z generations, clocked in at a paltry 329 million hours).

In percentage change up and down, email, portals, and instant messaging took the biggest hits, while social networking, games, and online video saw the biggest increases.

Interesting also to look at the corollary for mobile users and how it was similar/different.  In fact, given that email activity on mobile devices increased from ~37% to ~42%, one might conclude that email has moved off the desktop onto the handset for the most part, and desktops are being preserved for rich media/bandwidth intensive behavior.

Registration is Now Open

4th Annual Benefit

VCs vs. Entrepreneurs – Davis Cup Challenge

Thursday, September 23, 2010
Longwood Grass Courts  /  2:00 – 7:30pm

Welcome Back!  BSG Team Ventures is proud to once again host the 4th Annual  Benefit: VC vs.  Entrepreneur Tennis Tournament – Davis Cup Challenge, and we are thrilled to have you join us.

The VC/Entrepreneur tennis community has been growing every year so please register now so we can build the teams early.

Entry is by donation of $175.00.  Please click here to register!

For questions, please email Cristina Vieira Abramson at cvieira@bsgtv.com or call 617.784.4987

Agenda Overview

VCs vs. Entrepreneurs - Thursday, September 23, 2010

Format - Round Robin, Doubles

Time - 2:00 – 7:30pm (includes tournament, finals, cocktails, dinner and networking)

Location – Longwood Cricket Club, Chestnut Hill, MA

REGISTER

The Q2 2010 CEO survey has logged more than 50 respondents, so although additional responses may roll in, we’re posting the results in order to make the feedback to those who participated as timely as possible.   Additional responses are unlikely to skew the percentages significantly.

We at BSG Team Ventures periodically take the temperature of the markets we serve.  Below are the results.  This survey’s focus was on the economic recovery (is it indeed here, and if so, measured how?), and where CEOs are budgeting their spend in the 2010 recovery year.

A note on methodology.  We send these surveys only to those who fit the category (in this case, sitting CEOs or board member/founders of technology/science-driven growth-stage companies).    All responses were anonymous due to the web-based survey technology employed. The majority of respondents were in the United States, with the highest concentration on the East and West coasts (New York, Boston, and San Francisco/Silicon Valley areas).

For prior survey results from Q3 2009, titled “Strategy & Outpacing Your Competitors in the Recovery”, go to http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/3rd-quarter-innovation-ceo-survey-results-outpacing-competitors-recovery/.

The response to the first question clearly demonstrates that CEO sentiment versus our last survey has demonstrably shifted, with almost 75% of CEOs indicating that the economy has either bottomed out, or is recovering.

Similarly, for those growth-stage tech or sciences driven companies, when looking at revenues, more than 40% of CEOs reported that revenues were up from Q1 to Q2, with the largest percentage revenue increases in the 1-25% range.  Approximately 10% of CEOs reported revenue increases of 25% or more.