Sometimes opportunity is disguised as adversity. In 2001, Fred H. Abbott '77, with more than twenty years in executive management and consulting experience in information technology, became a statistic. Along with countless other IT professionals, Abbott was laid off when the dot com bubble burst.
As industry growth waned, Abbott reviewed what he perceived to be his only viable options-find another job in the risk-laden IT industry or take a leap of faith and start his own company. He chose the latter, and he hasn't looked back once. Today Valley View Ventures, based in Concord, Mass., represents almost forty IT analysts. This past July in an interview with
The New York Times, Abbott reported he was ahead of his target seven-figure annualized bookings for the end of 2002. More recently. he said V3's revenue “has doubled every quarter in 2002” and topped his seven-figure goal.
Abbott, a history major, credits much of
his success to Joseph Finkelstein, professor emeritus of history and economics and of management, who advised him to learn
professional selling. Abbott was recruited
by NCR right out of Union. “I wanted to learn about the computer business, although people said growth in the computer industry was over,” he recalls. At first he worked for NCR in Albany and later in Philadelphia. Then out of curiosity he answered an ad in the
Wall Street Journal to sell market research for International Data Corp., which happened to be a sister company of
Computer World magazine.
Subsequently, Abbott held senior management positions in a number of IT advisory firms including the Gartner Group, Giga, and D.H. Brown Associates. During that time, Brown went through two IPOs, but, he says, “Wall Street lost interest in consulting firms because their value was hyped. Additionally, stagnant growth in the computer business caused the IT market reseach industry to contract during the last twelve months.”
Before establishing V3, Abbott's research revealed that independent technology consultants enjoyed their work but don't have much enthusiasm for beating the bushes for business. Abbott realized he could fill that niche by starting a business that would find work for IT analysts for a percentage of their revenue. He saw his company as a “William Morris Agency” for IT analysts. The firm connects IT executives from Fortune 500 and business planners to “independent thought leaders, consultants, and industry analysts.”
He says the company is a “win-win”-consultants realize they can do better by going independent than by joining another big company where their bookings need to support high overhead costs. Meanwhile, clients get better value from independent IT professionals because “independents often offer insight and advice more closely tailored to their clients' particular needs.”
Abbott, whose office is in his home in Boston's Route 128 technology region, has grown his business because he is a good listener who wants to provide his clients with the best services available. And to those who might find themselves in a similar position as Abbott did in summer 2001, he advises, “Talk to friends, colleagues, former clients and try to match what you like to do best with what they say you do best. And then put the left foot in front of the right foot….”