This looks like a worthwhile panel discussion if you’re in the Silicon Valley area:
http://www.mitcnc.org/www/Events_Single.asp?eventID=1120
The MIT Club of Northern California is hosting the talk, which costs $25 if you order a ticket in advance.
Here’s the description:
Outsourcing has become a high profile and controversial topic in the entrepreneurial community lately. In Silicon Valley, most of us have heard stories of engineers and professionals losing high-paying jobs to India and China; at the same time, we hear of venture capitalists refusing to fund a company unless it has an "outsourcing story." Lower costs, difficult communication, faster time to market, loss of intellectual property- these are just a few of the things we hear about outsourcing.
In our May 2005 for the MIT Club of Northern California's Growing Companies program, we will get behind the hype by speaking with entrepreneurs who have had first hand experience with outsourcing key product development tasks and learn about the real benefits and real pitfalls of outsourcing.
Additional questions to be answered by our panelists include:
- Putting cost aside, what are the strategic benefits of outsourcing?
- How can a company protect its IP while outsourcing IP sensitive product development?
- At what stage in its development does it make sense for a startup to outsource product development, if ever?
Panelist companies include Accelerance, Metreo, MFR and Blujacket. The moderator is Rajiv Patel, Partner, Fenwick & West: Intellectual Property Group.
