Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal • October 12, 2015 www.wbjournal.com THETICKER In The File Jay Samit SHOP TALK 55.9 46,938 n Revised average monthly job growth rate, U.S. for 2015 so far, compared to 260,000 average monthly job growth for 2014. 198,000 This interview was conducted and edited for length by Rick Saia Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer 76% >> n Percentage of emergency room visits in Massachusetts that are made after normal operating hours at doctors' offices or clinics. Source: 2015 Solar Economy Barometer, prepared by Wiser Capital Source: Massachusetts Health Policy Commission Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics TITLE: CEO, SeaChange International, Acton RESIDENCE: Los Angeles EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, UCLA Source: Associated Industries of Massachusetts n Business Confidence Index, September 2015, up from 54.4 for September 2014. J ay Samit knows video technology. He served in senior executive roles for Sony and EMI, and headed other firms in the space before SeaChange International hired him last year. His recently published book urges innovators and entrepre- neurs to anticipate change to create their own opportunities, and to go in a different direction if cir- cumstances change to a point where the original idea no longer works. At last check, "Disrupt You!" was earning 5-star reviews on Amazon.com. In the first quarter of your current fiscal year, you mentioned that SeaChange's products were still looking to make inroads in certain markets. How is that progressing? Fantastically. We no longer live in your grandfa- ther's television. It's "You want to watch what you want to watch when you want to watch it on the device you want to watch it." The traditional business models that supported the old way TV worked are eroding, the way cable worked is changing, and SeaChange is empowering companies around the world during the most revolutionary time in TV history. How are operations looking after you hired a COO? The COO came from our board (and) so is inti- mately aware of the company. It freed me up as the CEO to be able to spend more time externally from the company, which means I'm focused on growth. How does your background as an entrepreneur help SeaChange move forward? Even though SeaChange has been around 20 years, all the new businesses that we're going onto make us have an entrepreneurial spirit. This is really about being an intrapreneur, taking a company from the inside and changing it and competing in ways that it's never done before. What market forces are in the company's favor as it seeks profitability and more revenue? We now have a broader spectrum of clients. For 20 years, we've been cable-centric. But now you'll see (that) mobile will no longer be voice, data and text; it will be voice, data, text and video plans. You're going to see device manu- facturers … come bundled with content. You'll see that content doesn't have to go through a cable pro- vider or through a network. ... So our universe of customers goes from a universe of 100 companies today to a universe of thousands — sports leagues, religions, you name it. Geographically, where do you see the greatest potential for revenue gain? Initially, the more developed countries — the U.S. and Europe — will be the majority of the revenue. But what we call smartphones today are coming down to a sub-$30 price in developing nations, becoming the new TV platform. So we see growth in Asia as a huge upside for the company. In a recent blog post, you mentioned the poten- tial of crowdsourcing as a source of capital. Where does that hold potential over venture capital and other forms of funding? Venture capital doubled in size in 2015, crossing $40 billion. But for the first time, crowdfunding now exceeds venture capital. So, any entrepreneur has access to capital. I've raised over $600 million for start- ups in my career. It's never been easier and it's never been cheaper to start a company. You're going to see tremendous innovation coming from all over. Your new book, "Disrupt You!" talks about transformation and opportunity in an innova- tion era. What thing most causes entrepreneurs and innovators to take their eye off the ball? The biggest mistake that I see in first-time entrepre- neurs is they get killed by kindness and praise. Your job as an entrepreneur is not to foster an idea, it's actu- ally to kill it. You must figure out, "How fast can I kill my idea and find every flaw with it?" Because if you can do it before you burn through your capital, you have time to pivot. Most of today's most successful businesses grew out of the pivot, not the original idea, because you've gone farther into exploring the new market than anybody (who) hasn't tried. n Offering a screenshot of opportunity On WBJournal.com Go to WBJournal.com to watch a video clip from our interview with Jay Samit. n Number of commercial sites in Massachusetts found to be suitable for future mid-scale solar installations. New York state leads the Northeast states with 81,604 sites, followed by Pennsylvania with 53,222 sites. Jay Samit, CEO, SeaChange International, Acton P H O T O / R I C K S A I A

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