The Interview Dermot Hill is a Director of Intramezzo, the executive talent solutions firm, which focuses on the venturing and investment market. Dermot has built his reputation as a ‘thought leader’ and is respected as being at the top of his game. Through Intramezzo he is delivering a very imaginative approach to the executive talent issue, particularly in the areas of building clusters of senior executive ’C’ level (i.e. top) talent for immediate access. We got to know Dermot at the end of the dotcom bust and have always admired his ability to apply his skills and experience to the entrepreneurial marketplace. Q. So, getting straight down to it, why did you decide to work in the entrepreneurial market?
A. It was the excitement and challenge, reinforced by my own experience. I love being involved with cutting edge businesses and new business models, especially in the context of the Western economies which now have the challenge of preservation rather than global leadership. Q. We know that you provide interim management solutions to some of the largest corporates in the world. Please tell us about the approach of some of these businesses to entrepreneurship.
A. What is common to all is that there is no common business model. This partly supports the early stage nature of this entrepreneurial / corporate venturing market.
A licensing model has been very successful for large corporates - HP achieving $200m from a modest start in 2002 from licensing revenue and IBM achieved over $1bn in licensing revenues within 2 years. Other organisations such as Unilever Ventures have a different model again and are seeing impressive multiples on their investments into ventures capitalising on their IP. What all these companies now recognise is that they need to continue to be able to react rapidly to market conditions and to opportunities. But they will typically pull in talent to execute, particularly to boost domain experience or to fill vital management gaps. Q. What do you think entrepreneurs have to offer the corporate world?
A. There are three essential parts to any successful venture: talent, investment, and intellectual property. Entrepreneurs continue to demonstrate how good rates for return can be achieved – entrepreneurs are the risk takers that constantly redefine the capability for achievement. Their example to the corporate world can be extremely valuable where corporates are looking to gain a quantum in performance. Q. What advice can you give entrepreneurs (and their investors) about building a team in a fast growing business?
A. Never be satisfied with the achievement. Always look to drive the business harder and faster to extended commercial goals. “Money follows people” – without the confidence and experience and the impact of good people ventures can be very hard to fund. So you need the team before you are likely to get the money.
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