Austin Hill, Montreal. Start-ups: CyberSpace Data Security, consulting, 1993; Infobahn Online Services, Internet service provider, 1994; TotalNet, ISP,1997; Zero-Knowledge Systems, online security, 1997; Synomos, corporate data protection, 2004
Currently: CEO, Akoha, social gaming; chairman, Standout Jobs, online recruiting tools; managing partner, Brudder Ventures, venture capital
Hamnett Hill, Montreal. Start-ups: Pegasus Multimedia, corporate presentation services, 1991; TotalNet, 1994; Zero-Knowledge Systems, 1997
Currently: CEO, RadialPoint, corporate data security, 2003
Hamnett Hill: Radialpoint is one company, but within it there've been at least 30 start-ups. It could be as simple as a new firewall service. We use the same model as starting an entire company: get a small team of entrepreneurial-minded people, come up with a plan, a design, experiment, and then roll it out.
Austin Hill: And to foster entrepreneurial spirit, what you need are two things: ideas and venture capital. There's a gap in Canada for entrepreneurs right now. Silicon Valley, New York, Israel: These are places where it's easy for people to find support. Density is also very important in fostering entrepreneurial spirit. For example, Montreal made a mark on visual effects and graphic arts in the early 1990s with companies like SoftImage, so there was a wave of students who acquired these skills. Now we've seen a recycling of that talent into the video-game industry. The result is that venture capitalists from around the world who are interested in video games will look to invest here. In the Valley, you can't help feeling that density. You might have an idea and decide to go for a cup of coffee. On your way to get that coffee you will run into six people who will help with your idea. In Canada, if you want that type of atmosphere you have to go to a conference. What makes a great entrepreneurial centre is talent, ideas, capital. And battle scars. And swagger. Cojones…
HH: …Cojones. A certain amount of hubris is required to be a successful entrepreneur. It's an almost irrational sense of ability and confidence. We've lost before. Think of 2000, when Zero Knowledge [Radialpoint's previous incarnation] was down from 250 to 40 people and losing millions. But then we turned it around.
AH: With a lot of successful businesses, everyone likes to only think of the [media] myth. For example, when talking about Google or Apple, people think it was easy…
HH: Most of them fail many times, some of them move sideways…
AH: …And the ones that are successful had to experiment. Google didn't have a proper plan for their first six years. We know those guys. But Google had the swagger of being able to meet constant rejection. And you can't just think like that when things are failing. It's when things are going well that you have to raise your sights. Most people don't have the fortitude or the curiosity…
HH: … the stubbornness!
AH: [At Zero Knowledge] were wrong about the timing, the market and the way we were using the technology. But two of the divisions that we shut down have since gone on the become successes elsewhere. So being entrepreneurial is also about luck, timing, vision, value. When all those things happen at once, you get a hit.
HH: It's the 10-year overnight success that Austin's talking about.
AH: At both venture capital funds I'm involved with, the first rule is that we will not fund a lone entrepreneur. Do you know why? Because we won't give money to anyone who can't convince a second person to quit their day job. I remember one venture capitalist who coached me years ago. He said, "You're looking for people who are equal parts intelligence and stupidity. Who possess a clear view of reality as well as the ability to ignore reality."
HH: Our dad was entrepreneurial as hell, even though he didn't have his own business.…
AH: …He'd say things like, "I'm investing in this company and if it works we'll go to Disneyland." Well, we'd watch that stock portfolio. Being an entrepreneur is not about getting a college degree in order to get a nine-to-five job.
