Building on Bedrock

by Derek Lidow

  While there is an extensive body of research in entrepreneurship, Paul Reynolds stands out as having led or advised all four long-term studies of randomly selected entrepreneurs in the United States (The Kauffman Foundation Survey, PSED I and II, and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor—GEM being the global version of PSED). Paul has thankfully put up with countless questions about this data. I also appreciate the effort Paul put into finding answers to questions where data had not yet been published. I would like to acknowledge Noam Wasserman and Howard Aldrich for their supportive advice and counsel as I have become more deeply involved with entrepreneurial research. The various sessions I have had with Princeton Anthropology faculty, Carolyn Rouse and Rena Lederman, on ethnographic methods have helped me be a better and more empathic observer.

  I could not have written this book without the significant support that I receive from Princeton University, specifically the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education. The Executive Director of the Center, Cornelia Huellstrunk, has unconditionally supported my various extra-curricular activities, for which I am greatly appreciative. The entire staff of the Keller Center: Beth Jarvie, Lillian Tsang, J.D. Jasper, and Stephanie Landers, have enabled me to stay focused on pushing the envelope of entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial questioning. The Deans of Princeton’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, Vince Poor and more recently Emily Carter, have also been very supportive, as have been the former Directors of the Keller Center, Sanj Kulkarni, and Mung Chiang, as well as the new Director, Margaret Martonosi. My fellow entrepreneurship and design thinking faculty members at the Keller Center, Sheila Pontis, Chris Kuenne, Marty Johnson, Kef Kasdin, Ed Zschau, John Danner, and Shahram Hejazi, always stimulate thought provoking conversations that have helped shape my understanding. I also acknowledge Yash Huilgol’s extremely productive summer of research assistance.

  I have a wonderful team that helps me specifically with my writing and my books. Jud Laghi has been a great and savvy agent and Carolyn Monaco has taught me more about publishing business books than I ever realized that I needed know. Jill Totenberg has introduced me to more great editors of all types than I could have ever met on my own. Bruce Tucker is one great editor and also a wonderful person to work with. It has been a pleasure indeed to work with Lia Ottaviano, Scott Waxman, Sarah Masterson Hally, and Christine Saunders at Diversion Books.

  Finally, as with entrepreneurship, writing a book is a family affair. My two sons, Arel and Teel, provide me insightful and unvarnished conversations, inputs, and appraisals. And my wife Diana is my muse, my great supporter, and one very savvy confidant.

  I am a very lucky person!

  Derek Lidow

  About the Author

  Derek Lidow is one of the few New York Stock Exchange CEOs who left to start new companies from scratch—with unequivocal success. Lidow was CEO of International Rectifier, a $2 billion publicly held semiconductor company, before leaving to found iSuppli, a leading market research firm, which he sold for $100 million in 2010 to the global information leader IHS. Today, Lidow is giving back by teaching at Princeton University where he launched its campus-wide “design thinking” curriculum. He also works with Princeton’s aspiring entrepreneurs and their young companies.

  Lidow has long demonstrated a rare ability to operate successfully in corporate, entrepreneurial, and academic environments. His novel contributions to research and analysis have forever improved companies as diverse as Sony, Samsung, Philips, Goldman Sachs and IBM. He has advised many of the world’s governments and largest companies. And he continues to drive innovation in research through ongoing projects with a number of partners.

  Lidow is a frequent contributor to publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, and Entrepreneur. He is also a media commentator whose coverage includes The New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes, The Economist, Nikkei, Reuters, and Taipei Times.

  Lidow’s degrees come from Princeton and Stanford where he earned a PhD in applied physics as a Hertz Foundation Fellow. He is based in New York City and Princeton, NJ. For more, visit DerekLidow.com.

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