Robert Siegel

Research Statement

Robert Siegel researches strategy and innovation in both large and small companies, as well as the opportunities and challenges that technological change brings to these firms. Additionally, Robert teaches product management and product development best practices and methods, as well as entrepreneurial finance over the life-cycle of growing companies.

Research Interests

• Strategy
• Corporate Innovation
• Product Management
• Venture Capital
• Entrepreneurship

Bio

Robert Siegel is a Lecturer in Management and has led primary research and written cases on Google, Charles Schwab, Daimler, AB InBev, Box, Stripe, General Electric, AngelList, 23andMe, CODE2040, Lending Club, Tableau, PayPal, SurveyMonkey, Medium, Autodesk, Minted, Zuora, Axel Springer and Starbucks (La Boulange), amongst others.

He is also a partner at XSeed Capital, and his investment areas include business operations where computational technologies automate/improve company performance, mobile solutions for firms of all sizes, and software systems that shape both business and consumer behaviors.

He sits on the Board of Directors of Foxeye Robotics, Avochato, and Cape, and he led XSeed’s investments in Sparta Science, Zooz, Castle Global, Lex Machina (acquired by LexisNexis of the RELX Group - NYSE: RELX), CirroSecure (acquired by Palo Alto Networks - NYSE: PANW), Disco, The League, Trove, Teapot (acquired by Stripe), Smart Coffee Technology, Pixlee, ZipLine Medical and SIPX (acquired by ProQuest). He also supports other portfolio companies such as Citrine Informatics.

Robert is on the Board of SmartDrive Systems, and is a Member of the Supervisory Board and also the Chairman of the Strategic Advisory Board for TTTech in Vienna, Austria. He is a Member of the Industry Advisory Board for Here Technologies, and is the Co-President Emeritus of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, an alumni association that fosters relationships to strengthen the Stanford startup community. Robert has co-authored several articles for the Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, is a Wall Street Journal Startup Guru, and is a frequent contributor to Fortune, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and Forbes.

Prior to joining XSeed, Robert was General Manager of the Video and Software Solutions division for GE Security, with annual revenues of $350 million. Robert was previously Executive Vice President of Pixim, Inc., a fabless semiconductor firm specializing in image sensors and processors (acquired by Sony). Before Pixim, Robert was Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Weave Innovations Inc. (acquired by Kodak), a network services developer that invented the world’s first digital picture frame, and delivered photos and other digital media to PCs and internet / mobile devices.

Robert served in various management roles at Intel Corporation, including an executive position on their Corporate Business Development team, in which he invested capital in startups that were strategically aligned with Intel’s vision. Previous to Intel, Robert held a series of senior sales and marketing positions at GeoWorks, which went public in 1993.

Robert is the co-inventor of four patents and served as lead researcher for Andy Grove’s best-selling book, Only the Paranoid Survive.

Robert holds a BA from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University.  He is married with three children.

Academic Degrees

• MBA, Stanford GSB, 1994
• BA, University of California, Berkeley, 1989

Academic Appointments

• Lecturer, Stanford GSB, 2011-present

Professional Experience

• Partner, XSeed Capital, 2008-Current
• General Manager, Video Software and Solutions, GE Security, 2004-2007
• Executive Vice President, Pixim, Inc., 2001-2004
• CEO and Co-Founder, Weave Innovations, Inc., 1998-2001
• Senior Manager, Desktop Products Group and Corporate Business Development, Intel Corporation, 1994-1998
• Manager, International Sales and Marketing, GeoWorks, 1986-1992

Awards and Honors

• MBA Class of 1973 Lecturer, 2016-2017
• Case Centre Award Entrepreneurship Category Winner - Axel Springer in 2014: Strategic Leadership of the Digital Media Transformation (2017)

Teaching

Degree Courses

2017-18

FINANCE 373: Entrepreneurial Finance

This is a course about the financial decision-making process largely from the point of view of the CEO of an entrepreneurial venture, ranging from very early to very late stages. The course takes a two-pronged approach: First, we develop tools...

STRAMGT 309: Strategies of Effective Product Management

This is a course about exploring the methods and processes for product management, largely in technology companies, and a look at what can lead to the most effective ways to coordinate customer needs, ensure accurate product development, and how...

STRAMGT 371: Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation

This course focuses on the strategic management of technology-based innovation in the firm. The purpose is to provide students with concepts, frameworks, and experiences that are useful for taking part in the management of innovation processes in...

STRAMGT 502: Systems Leadership for the Digital Industrial Transformation

This course explores the details of how leaders at the world''s biggest companies are driving frame-breaking transformational change inside of organizations that have grown up with an industrial foundation, or who are moving into the industrial...

STRAMGT 520: The Industrialist's Dilemma

This course explores how digital disruptions are having tectonic shifts on large, successful and established companies, whether they have a digital foundation or not. Both new and existing high technology firms such as Google, Amazon, Stripe,...

2016-17

FINANCE 373: Entrepreneurial Finance

This is a course about the financial decision-making process largely from the point of view of the CEO of an entrepreneurial venture, ranging from very early to very late stages. The course takes a two-pronged approach: First, we develop tools...

STRAMGT 353: Entrepreneurship: Formation of New Ventures

This course is offered for students who at some time may want to undertake an entrepreneurial career by pursuing opportunities leading to partial or full ownership and control of a business. The course deals with case situations from the point of...

STRAMGT 371: Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation

This course focuses on the strategic management of technology-based innovation in the firm. The purpose is to provide students with concepts, frameworks, and experiences that are useful for taking part in the management of innovation processes in...

STRAMGT 509: Strategies of Effective Product Management

This is a course about exploring the methods and processes for product management, largely in technology companies, and a look at what can lead to the most effective ways to coordinate customer needs, ensure accurate product development, and how...

STRAMGT 520: The Industrialist's Dilemma

This course explores how digital disruptions are having tectonic shifts on large, successful and established companies, whether they have a digital foundation or not. Both new and existing high technology firms such as Google, Amazon, Stripe,...

In the Media

There’s Precedent for Amazon Competing with So Many Companies. It Doesn’t End Well.

Quartz, October 28, 2017

Should Travis Kalanick Really Be Kicked Off Uber’s Board?

Fortune, August 14, 2017

Beth Comstock's Innovation Push Breaks the Mould for General Electric

Australian Financial Review, August 11, 2017

Softbank Deal Making Sets Off Debate

The Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2017

Uber's Next CEO Has to Face This Huge Challenge

Time, June 21, 2017

With Uber's Travis Kalanick Out, Will Silicon Valley Clean Up its Bro Culture?

The Guardian, June 21, 2017

Uber Leadership Crisis Puts Travis Kalanick in Hot Seat

USA Today, June 11, 2017

Why Some Digital Companies Should Delay Profitability for as Long as They Can

Harvard Business Review, May 4, 2017

Uber CEO's Iron Grip Poses Challenge in COO Search

Reuters, April 13, 2017

Trump Bump: Entrepreneurs Create New Apps and Features Tied to the President

San Jose Mercury News, March 23, 2017

Uber’s Messy Breakup Complicates Search for COO

Bloomberg, March 21, 2017

Uber’s Massive Crap Pile Develops Its Own Gravity

Wired, March 3, 2017

Google Claims Ex Employee Stole Self-Driving Car Information and Passed it to Uber

NPR, February 24, 2017

Innovation Hyperbole Complex

Fortune, January 13, 2017

500 Startups’s Global Ventures Run Into Headwinds

Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2017

A View from Silicon Valley - What Will Be the Fallout of the US election on the UK?

Share Radio, November 4, 2016

GSB Future of Innovation

theCUBE - Silicon Angle, October 13, 2016

What if Uber Stumbles on way to IPO?

San Jose Mercury News, August 30, 2016

Uber Loses at Least $1.2 Billion in First Half of 2016

Bloomberg, August 25, 2016

Game On! This Is a Time for VCs and Entrepreneurs to be Optimisitic!

VentureBeat, August 21, 2016

A View from Silicon Valley - Organisational Debt, Uber’s China Struggle and More

Share Radio, August 5, 2016

This Is Every CEO's Most Insidious Liability

Fortune, July 28, 2016

Brexit: The Dilemma Facing UK Startups

Tech City News, July 26, 2016

A View from Silicon Valley - Brexit’s Impact on UK Tech Start-ups, Entrepreneurship in Europe and More

Share Radio, July 22, 2016

Brexit Could Threaten England's Global Technology Status

NPR, July 5, 2016

Twitter Makes Some Noise with $70 million SoundCloud Investment

The Christian Science Monitor, June 15, 2016

O Captain! My Captain!

Medium, March 21, 2016

The Industrialist's Dilemma

TechCrunch, January 10, 2016

Know Your Minimum Winning Game for Startup Success

VentureBeat, June 20, 2015

Finding Your Tribe Is an Ongoing Quest

TechCrunch, May 22, 2015

The Unwritten Rules Of Business

Forbes, January 14, 2015

Don't Drop The Baby

The Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2014

Can I Buy a Vowel? The Five Elements of Choosing a Startup Cofounder

Forbes, May 21, 2014

Help! My Funding Round Is Oversubscribed!

VentureBeat, May 6, 2014

It Was the Best and Worst of Times in Silicon Valley

The Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2014

4 Key Trends That Are Revolutionizing Enterprise Effectiveness

VentureBeat, April 3, 2014

The Power of Saying “No”

Forbes, February 12, 2014

How A Venture-Backed Company Should Think About Exit Events

Forbes, January 29, 2014

User-Generated Images Will Increasingly Drive Business Decisions for Brands and Channels

Pixlee, January 16, 2014

Why Opening Up About Failure Makes You a More ‘Authentic’ Entrepreneur

VentureBeat, October 28, 2013

How To Recognize A True Winner: A Venture Capitalist's View

Forbes, August 22, 2013

Before You Try Improvising Your VC Pitch, Read This

VentureBeat, May 7, 2013

When Startups Need To Stop Being Democracies

Forbes, April 3, 2013

Strategic Investor: Friend or Foe?

VentureBeat, March 11, 2013

Why Do So Many Young Women Want to Be COOs?

VentureBeat, March 4, 2013

Insights by Stanford Business

videoFaculty and Alumni Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Advice

December 28, 2016

Take these life lessons to heart and reset your thinking for the new year.

videoWhat's the Next Big Thing?

December 15, 2015

Which new tech opportunities have Silicon Valley buzzing? Six insiders tell the rest of us what they think the future holds.

writtenPeople Challenges Can Sink Startups

August 7, 2015

The best company culture is not where everyone gets a hug.