I’m humbled by the honor of Innovator of the Month. Thanks Andrew, Gilda, and the rest of the team at Candy Lab!
Jonathan Chizick: May 2013 Innovator of the Month
Jonathan is a startup investor/advisor, former engineer & entrepreneur, and aspiring tech blogger. His tech experience ranges across the full product lifecycle and industries from semiconductors to PCs to consumer electronics retail. Currently, Jonathan is a Strategic Product Marketing executive at Samsung, responsible for identifying new startups and executing partnerships. He’s actively involved in the Silicon Valley startup world, both as an angel investor and advisor to several startups and Venture Capital firms. He’s also co-founder and CMO of MarketingCamp, bringing together innovative Marketing thought-leaders from across Silicon Valley. Previously, he launched the Alienware product line globally, pioneered viral marketing at Best Buy, co-founded WalkAbout Wireless, consulted at Apple, and designed & built cars at Ford.
Q: What inspired your current entrepreneurial endeavor?
I’m inspired by new, disruptive ideas and people with passion for bringing these ideas to life. I truly enjoy working with these entrepreneurs to find the right product-market fit and enable the connections they need to succeed.
Q: What does innovation mean to you?
Innovation comes in many forms. My favorite way to look at it is to use Clayton Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma model. It’s a great framework to understand how disruptions from small companies can “surprise” much larger and established businesses and why they react too late, if at all.
Q: Tell us about a situation where you solved a problem which did not seem to have a perfect solution available.
It’s hard to remember the last time I had a situation where there was an easy and perfect solution. That’s what makes business so fun – always a new challenge to overcome or a puzzle to solve.
Q: What are some specific things that your organization changed and/or implemented as a result of your ideas or ideas generated by a team you led?
I had the privilege of leading the team at Dell responsible for the global expansion of our acquired Alienware brand. We took this opportunity to introduce Dell to a number of marketing innovations, which were subsequently integrated into standard practice for product launches. One of these “Dell firsts” was the use of a viral teaser campaign to generate buzz and capture sales leads prior to launch.
Q: What situations or environments seem to make you most creative?
Small teams with passion and commitment. Having the opportunity to tackle a new business challenge and the freedom to think beyond organizational dogma and constraints to drive disruption.
