As senior investors in several IoT companies, we've learned a few things from some impressive and successful entrepreneurs along the way. The teams behind the companies we work with are very diverse, but they have some core skills and approaches in common. Here are the skills you need to master in order to run a successful IoT business:
Connectivity
The IoT is built on a foundation of connectivity. No matter what industry you're in, whether your IoT products are for consumers or enterprises, whether in the hardware or software business - connectivity still needs to be a core skill. This means your business needs experts in network design and management, as well as a broad understanding of network protocols, standards and technologies.
Hardware
Not all IoT businesses involve hardware. Some of them focus on software and analytics engines for data analysis, but nonetheless, they also need to focus on hardware because the data they rely on is generated and transmitted by physical, networked "things". Of course, many IoT companies have been producing these physical products from the beginning. This means that a deep understanding of hardware development, electrical engineering, industrial design and manufacturing is critical to the success of IoT companies.
Security
Often times security is added at the end of the IoT product development cycle, rather than "built in" from the beginning. In today's context of increasingly sophisticated cybercrime and complex data security regulatory requirements, the latter is the only way forward. Don't forget that IoT security involves protecting data on connected devices, in transit between devices, and in the applications and platforms that analyze it, so there are many different security specialties to consider.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
The IoT is built on connectivity, but the value it provides is all about the data. An IoT system or product may collect data from a previously untapped source or simply make that source more visible and regularly viewable than before. It may combine several different data sets to provide deeper insights into how certain processes work. All of these possibilities are data-driven.
In turn, this means that the skills to collect, process and understand data are critical to the success of IoT businesses. Building on this, these companies need to be able to further leverage this data and feed it back into existing processes to drive improvements. This means that expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence may be of great help in strategically positioning IoT companies for the future.
Agility
This is the core skill that we believe brings it all together. As we all know, the IoT space is growing rapidly, with countless companies trying to bring new products and platforms to market, or use the IoT ecosystem as part of their existing operations. Therefore, being able to jump from project to project while maintaining a clear overall strategy and being able to respond quickly to broader changes in the industry (from new technology developments to new security threats) is critical.