Its core markets are entrepreneurs, youth and small and medium enterprises.
Rather, target companies here are more likely to have a relatively small employee population headed by a core leadership of entrepreneurs and technology specialists who possess the knowledge and experience that make the company attractive.
As GinzaMetrics' COO Erin O'Brien told me, the team believes McCullough is the right fit: "He is a hard-core engineer and entrepreneur with a penchant for death metal and good drinks," she said.
It also added 12 new people to its roster of over 100 mentors, including Dr. Sang Cha, the creator of SAP HANA, one of the enterprise software's core platforms; Pat Kinsel, Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Polaris Partners and co-founder of Spindle (which was recently acquired by Twitter); and Ty Ahmad-Taylor, Head of Smart TV Services At Samsung Electronics.
Writing in Inc., the Schumpeter biographer Thomas K. McCraw, a Pulitzer-Prize winning historian, says he remains "one of the most astute business thinkers who ever lived" and his core belief that the entrepreneur is "the source of all economic progress" seems more prescient than ever as innovation moves through our economy an unprecedented pace".
Drawing from the works of several researches (for example Bhave1994; Timmons1994 and Shane and Venkataraman2000) it can be inferred that the core activity of an entrepreneur is venture formation and the essential part of this activity is opportunity recognition.
At his core, Branson is an entrepreneur who thrives on challenging what's possible and improving the status quo - doing things smarter and better while stirring up the established power structures in the process.
A core feature of the entrepreneur's story was his/her exposure to other countries' experiences through participation in regional and international networks at the behest of development partners.
For now, the company is sticking to its core competency: Helping creative entrepreneurs figure out how to turn their passions into careers.
The firm's core proposition to the entrepreneurs it courts is that it offers the capital, time and support needed to get to Series A and build the most ambitious business possible.
