The purpose of staying in touch with you is to share my learnings and unlearnings, with the hope that some will be of value to you.

Personal Update:

• My mentoring program with 1^st year Rotman Business School MBA students, for the 2022-2023 school year is in the planning stages. Many students in consulting hope to work for McKinsey, Bain, or BCG with a starting salary of over $200,000/yr.
• Devoting significant effort learning about and be part of the Toronto startup ecosystem, which is global in scope. It is critical to understand how early stage companies are disrupting and destroying traditional established companies.
• Mentoring a startup at the University of Toronto Department of Engineering – Hatchery. Helping them think through how to disrupt and transform the world.
• Being an advisor at the Holt Xchange, a global fintech fund and accelerator.
• Being a member of the Angel One Investor Network, which is a member of Equation Angels.
• Being a Patient Family Advisor at the Odette Cancer Centre – Sunnybrook Hospital.
• Continuing my long-term fundraising for the Geoff Carr Fellowship at Lupus Ontario. Over the past 16 years family, friends, neighbours, and colleagues have contributed over $251,000. There is a contribution link at the end of this update.
• Continuing to share with you, and on my website, some of what I’ve learned with the intent that some of you will find of value. The learnings are applicable to any size company, ranging from an early stage startup to large global enterprises.

My biggest learnings in the past three months

• The distribution of people performance follows a power law. The top 1% of workers generate 10 time the output of the average worker.
• The distribution of company economic profit follows a power law. The top 20% of companies earn 90% of economic profit. 60% of companies earn little economic profit.
• The best way to determine how someone will perform in a job is a work sample test e.g. assess a potential board director in an observer role for 1 year, prior to putting them forward for election. Years of experience are a poor predictor of job performance.
• The major of founders of companies which achieved a $1 billion U.S. valuation had less than two years of relevant domain experience.
• Company leaders may need four types of third party support: Strategic Advisors, Coaches, Consultants, and Trainers.
• It’s hard for a company to beat competitors who have better board’s of directors and C-Suite executives.
• Warren Buffet supposedly said “You’re looking for three things, generally, in a person: intelligence, energy, and integrity. And if they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two.”
• Successful growing companies and VC funds all agree that: Must focus on customers who believe that they have urgent problems and needs they are willing and able to pay to address. Many companies leaders I meet don’t believe that they don’t need to understand what customers think, feel, and value.
• Successful startup founders regularly mention that the key to their success was talking to customers on a going basis. Dominic Barton, when he was global managing director of McKinsey, talked with two CEOs (or equivalent) every day.

Sharing my learnings

My website (https://koorandassociates.org/) contains my points-of-view regarding key issues and questions regarding value creation and growth in for-profit businesses. Each point-of-view is a brief article designed to enable discussion among founders, owners, shareholders, investors, CEOs, boards of directors, and advisory boards. I do not address not-for-profits, government, or other non-profit oriented organizations.

 Below are links to my website containing: new and revised points-of-view since my last update in April.

Points-of-view links:

Critical learning from Collision 2022 (North American startup conference for founders and investors

https://koorandassociates.org/creating-business-value/critical-learnings-from-collision-2022/

Elite talent – what is the purpose?

https://koorandassociates.org/creating-business-value/elite-talent-what-is-the-purpose/

Strategic Advisor vs Coach vs Consultant

https://koorandassociates.org/creating-business-value/strategic-advisor-vs-coach-vs-consultant/

Billion dollar startup characteristics

https://koorandassociates.org/creating-business-value/billion-dollar-startup-characteristics/

Why are values, morals, and ethics important? V2

https://koorandassociates.org/values-morals-and-ethics/why-are-values-morals-and-ethics-important/

How can a private company sell securities in Ontario? V2

https://koorandassociates.org/selling-a-company-or-raising-capital/how-can-a-private-company-sell-securities-in-ontario/

What will be the board and C-Suite talent requirements? V2

https://koorandassociates.org/creating-business-value/what-will-be-the-board-and-c-suite-talent-requirements/

 To support the Geoff Carr Fellowship at  Lupus Ontario

https://sna.etapestry.com/fundraiser/LupusOntario/research2022/individual.do?participationRef=12744.0.303532049