252 The Bell-Mason Diagnostic

THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF THE BELL-MASON DIAGNOSTIC

The four major elements of the Bell-Mason Diagnostic include:

1.The five stages of company growth

2.The twelve dimensions that are measured to assess a start-up

3.The rules used to evaluate each dimension

4.A relational graph plotted against the ideal model for success These elements are described briefly in the following subsections.

ELEMENT 1: THE FIVE STAGES OF COMPANY GROWTH

The range of computer- and communications-technology-based companies is large and will reach the trillion-dollar level before the year 2000. Hardware components start-ups produce and sell such items as integrated circuits and disks. Software components start-ups serve all computing power levels and deal in dozens of software segments. A few of the offerings in systems programming include languages, operating systems, utility programs, network management, and general software-engineering tools. Complete computer systems manufacturers may create anything from voice-controlled, pocket-size PCs to supercomputers. End-user applications software ventures bring us games as well as programs for inventory control, word processing, and mechanical design. Distribution, service, customization, training, and operations also constitute a major segment of the industry.

But despite their variety, all healthy companies starting up in the information-technology field must pass through the following four predictable, measurable, sequential growth stages in a roughly identical fashion:

• • • Stage I: Concept

      Stage II: Seed

      Stage III: Product development

      Stage IV: Market development

These four stages correspond to key product, market, and corporate development milestones and are intentionally distinct from a definition based on the infusion of capital (i.e., the rounds of funding).

Assuming they have successfully maneuvered through the preceding four stages, companies then reach a fifth stage, known as steady state- a mature but still growing