Tom Kinneman, COO/VP – North Shore InnoVentures
Q: How did you end up working at InnoVentures?
Tom: I’m originally an engineer. I started in research, and helped develop some new technology that I took to the marketplace and implement in the real world. I found that second part a lot more fun than inventing things, so I decided to go into marketing and I went off and got my MBA.
Since then, I’ve been involved in commercializing about a dozen different technologies in half a dozen different industries on three or four continents. That’s been my specialty; turning promising technologies into viable and scalable technologies that make a difference in the world. When I got involved with InnoVentures I realized I could do that with a dozen companies at a time instead of just one. There were so many cool entrepreneurs and ideas coming in that I never found any reason to go anywhere else.
Q: Is it more challenging helping a dozen companies as opposed to just one?
It is different. When I was with one company, I was usually in a position of responsibility and could drive things more. In the incubator, we’re facilitating, helping, encouraging, and cajoling, as opposed to instructing and enforcing – motivating people in other ways. It’s a lot more challenging in the sense that you have less control. On the other hand, it’s a lot more gratifying because I get to see these entrepreneurs develop from brilliant technicians to smart, effective business people.
Q: What are some upcoming goals for InnoVentures?
For InnoVentures, we’re at the point where we continue to get bigger to address a growing need. More and more people understand that the strength of our economy is in its entrepreneurial culture. I’ve been fortunate to have lived in Europe and in Asia and seen where other regions have other strengths. However, there’s nowhere in the world like America for business and technology innovation. And there’s nowhere in the world like Massachusetts; where the willingness to imagine a new future and to try to make it come true gets as much support. That’s exciting.
I see InnoVentures scaling up and getting better at what we do. Helping more companies to scale up and make a difference in the world. Unfortunately, the only way things get scaled is if somebody comes up with a good idea and figures out a way to make money on it. That’s what we’ve done really well. Helping people to understand that, and helping them learn how to leverage the resources in the world to make their technologies big enough that they make a difference.
Q: What are your personal goals?
Personally, most of what I’ve done for the last ten years has been managing the operations and financial side of InnoVentures. Then, when I have more time, I help with the mentoring and coaching of specific companies where my background is particularly useful. I love that part of it. Paying the bills and making sure everything is working has to get done, but it’s not my passion. I’m happy to hand that off and spend more time helping the entrepreneurs to figure out their path forward and how they can achieve success faster.
Q: Is mentoring your favorite aspect of your job?
Absolutely. It’s very gratifying to see the personal growth of these really smart people who maybe haven’t understood how to manage people before, how to manage investors before, or how to get something commercialized before. It’s really exciting to see that growth of a person and of a company as a result of coaching or mentoring. I get most excited about that.
Years ago, after meeting with a couple good entrepreneurs, our founding CEO Marty Farmer and I quipped that the other half of our salary was the satisfaction we got out of helping those kinds of people; People who were coachable and interested in learning how to do better, but didn’t yet know how to do it.
Q: What is a favorite hobby of yours outside of work?
I’m big into triathlon. I’ve always been a runner and maybe a dozen years ago, I got introduced into triathlon. I found the variety of combining the swim, bike, and run together is a real passion for me. I’ve now done dozens of races including seven Ironman’s, and had some success in my age group at the National and World Championship level.
Q: Are you a beach person or a mountain person?
That’s a tough one. I grew up three or four blocks from the beach in New Jersey and I have often quipped that if I don’t immerse myself in salt water at least once a year, I think I will shrivel up and die. However, I love hiking too. I used to go into the Adirondacks and the White Mountains a lot. Lately that hasn’t happened as much but I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time out hiking and doing things like that in the future.
Q: What is your favorite movie?
The first Star Wars really just broke open a whole new genre for all of us. It was science-fictiony enough, but also people enough. Before they had such sophisticated CGI, they did a pretty incredible job, so I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but certainly one that left an impression.