IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine - Fall 2017 - 69

■

is important to measure progress
on the plan in a quantitative manner and make adjustments based
on new information. Finally, an
operating plan is not just for the
founder and the investors. It is
something the entire team needs
to be behind. For that reason, we
recommend absolute transparency, sharing objectives and progress with the team frequently. One
of our founders displays progress
on its plan on TV screens around
the office. It keeps everybody focused on goals, motivated when
things go well, and ready to rally
when there are setbacks.
Get the hard things done first. You
can always be busy at a start-up,
but it is absolutely critical to solve
the important problems first. I can
explain this with the "standardized test" example. Many of us
are expert test takers. On a standardized test, we solve the easy
questions first and leave the hard
ones until the end, since they are
all worth the same points. In the
start-up world, it is the opposite:
you don't pass the test unless you
solve the hardest question. Thus, a

■

■

founder needs to focus on those
hard questions and put all his/her
energy on addressing them.
Be paranoid. As Andy Grove said,
"Only the paranoid survive." Technology cycles are becoming shorter
and shorter, so a founder needs
to be ready for change, aware that
standing still is not an option. Past
and current success is no indication of future success.
Work on yourself. This is especially
true for first-time founders. I have
witnessed first-time founders become
great CEOs, but it does not happen by
accident. All of these CEOs have something in common-an innate desire
for self-growth. They read a lot, they
ask questions, and they surround
themselves with better people.

Q: How are large companies ensuring they are capturing the newest and most innovative ideas? Is
it working?
Mar: Nvidia is a very innovative
company at fostering innovation.
For example, this past May, Nvidia put
together its first "AI Day for VCs."
They are actively trying to partner
with the venture community to foster

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50
40
30
20

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

0

2001

10
2000

Q: What would be your best advice
for a founder today?
Mar: I have found that the "best advice" is highly dependent on the
founder to whom the advice is targeted. With this in mind, I can think of a
few things that may be more appropriate today.
■ Absolute focus on execution. Today,
we live in a world flooded with VC,
where the speed at which we are
seeing ideas proliferate and being
replicated is staggering. It is not
enough to have a differentiated
technology, an illustrious team, or
a lot of capital. The teams that win
are able to deliver a product that
customers are ready to buy in an
efficient manner. One of the most
crucial elements of flawless execution is excelling in the art of planning. We work with our founders
to put together an operating plan
with a very clear set of objectives
from day one, even when they have
just raised a small seed round. It

"The success of TPUs has pushed a new breed
of companies to develop custom ASICs for
specific data applications."

AI Instances

new applications to require innovative silicon solutions. Other applications include those for the IoT [8],
autonomous driving [9], biotechnology, and mobile devices. These silicon solutions result in more analog/
RF and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) chips. Some recent successes include the silicon-based DNA
synthesis platform Twist Bioscience
(founded in 2013, raised US$193 million), custom LIDAR [light detection
and ranging] Luminar Technologies
(founded in 2012, raised US$36 million), MEMS-based force-sensing solutions NextInput (founded in 2012,
raised US$15 million), vision sensor
developer Chronocam (founded in
2014, raised US$18 million), and myriad other young start-ups.
At Pear VC, after having done no
semiconductor investments in three
years, we have completed two early stealth-stage seed investments in
semiconductor start-ups, one addressing a specific use of AI and the other
for health-care applications. The semiconductor venture investment world
is looking good.

FIGURE 3: AI instances per year, based on Crunchbase descriptions. (Source: Crunchbase.)

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine - Fall 2017

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