Vadim Asadov, founder and CEO, NeurOK
Several times I found myself in a situation when it seemed that only a miracle could save a project. And sometimes it is really better to close it down, than to regret money, time and efforts spent, hope to drag it up to success by one more “ultimate” investment. It is a very difficult choice for me each time, because I always have money and so a temptation to invest part of it into a dying project. The situation when on the one hand a company has exhausted its budget, but on the other hand there is a possibility to invest more, puts me before a difficult dilemma: to close down or to save a project. I know perfectly that this “just a little more” can be too expensive for me. But it’s often difficult for me to be unbiased because I also know that sometimes it is worth falling into temptation and taking a chance…
I saved one of our oldest projects NeurOK Optics by changing its strategy fundamentally. Our optical project started in 1999 and until 2005 we were making a model of a display which had some success in the market. But it was not a clear success, because potential clients liked our project, but did not buy it. We’d already been through initial sales rise, and after being on a plateau for a while we had to make a new surge. But we ran out of money.
I was facing a choice: to close or not to close the project. At that time my R&D team came to me and suggested to modify the display’s model to the extent that meant a radical change of the company’s general strategy. It was a very difficult moment for me. My own money, the money I actually had, was at stake. It sounds very strange, but I believe that such a situation is worse than when you do not have money at all. No money, no temptation. You have to close down your business or try to find money outside. My situation is much more difficult. I always have money and can always make a new round of investment. I had been funding this project for 5 years, I had poured so many resources into it, and it always seemed to me that I should put up just a little more money and it would skyrocket. It was a temptation I could not stand. It is like playing chess with yourself. Trying to answer who is a winner in such a game.
I hesitated for a long time, because I was asked to spend some more money with still unpredictable result. And finally I decided to take that risk. But to have some guarantees I made the following step. As soon as we changed the strategy and designed the first prototype, we immediately presented it to our clients and reached the point when 199 of 200 of them said they would buy it.
Taking that risk paid back. The decision was right, and the project was saved. Now we have reached a new level and we are in for a new big leap forward.
The Russian original
