Mr Dan Lejerskar is what you would call a serial entrepreneur, having started several successful businesses including real estate development company PFAB, a publicly-traded simulation company Prosolvia AB, and an e-commerce and interactive 3D company RealityBUY. Currently Chairman and Executive Vice President of EON Reality which he co-founded, Mr Lejerskar recently spoke at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore’s new speaker series "Infocomm LIVE!" ( L eading, I nnovating, V isioning, E ngaging), where he shared his insights into entrepreneurship.

Mr Lejerskar: Now’s definitely a good time for starting a business.

The seven keys to being a successful serial entrepreneur.

1. Think big. You can start small, and scale profitably.
2. Clear Pain Killer. Don’t play with something that is nice to have, but pursue serious problems. Make stuff that alleviates a real need, like communications that are so good it lessens the need to travel.
3. KISS - Keep it simple, stupid. Focus on a simple and singular value proposition.
4. Customer-driven development. Target customers who will move fast and pay a premium. When we developed the first software at EON, we had no money. We came up with a clear idea what the software would do. Eight in ten customers we showed it to wanted to be the only ones in that segment to use it, and were willing to pay. When you can do this, you won’t need VCs.
5. Think differently.
6. Be aware of the weakest link - yourself. You might not be the best person to grow the company, and you don’t have to do everything. If you have good ideas, and are humble, you can ask for help. People actually like that.
7. Speed, agility, drive and frugality.

Setting the culture straight
The right company culture is essential. Set the culture straight on Day One. It must be in the people you mingle with and nurture in your company. Passion is contagious. We try to be open, positive, encourage others, have wild fun, celebrations, rewards, and we set impossible targets to stretch ourselves. Resisters have to leave quickly. You can identify them - if it’s a small team and you work obsessively, you can smell them. He might be your friend and you don’t feel good firing him, but if you keep him, others will have to carry his pack for him. That’s if he’s lazy. Worse than laziness is the poisoner, who is really destructive.

The three pillars in life
There are three pillars in life. The first is your job: Are you doing fulfilling work? Then there’s family – you have a good home that you can go back to after a hard day and lick your wounds and your wife understands that you’ve had a bad day. Third is yourself: Do you have a harmonious relation with yourself?

The reality is that you won’t have all three all the time. But two out of the three must work. I have a “contract” with my wife, who was a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and knows all the pain involved. We’re going to do this company, and it’s going to take 60 to 80 hours a week. Do you get a buy-in or not? Talk with your family, make sure you have them with you, and then go. If not, don’t go into it.

A purifying recession
Now’s definitely a good time for starting a business. The price of labour is discounted and you can hire the talent easily. The recession is a purifier. In this environment, half-and-half ideas don’t fly. Good ideas fly. You have to be more careful, but if you feel it in your gut, go for it. Don’t just jump off and take a risk. You can do your job, and in the night, cultivate your business. If it doesn’t work, you haven’t left anything behind.