Disruption is a word that is not often associated with the building of a business. However, Clay Christensen, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, has written two groundbreaking books, The Innovators Dilemma, and The Innovators Solution, which persuasively show that disruption can indeed be the primary engine of growth. Disruptive Innovation (which is described succinctly here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology), can be generally defined as an innovation, product or service that uses a disruptive approach, rather than a sustaining or revolutionary one. Disruptors use a very consistent formula to attack the incumbents in an industry by focusing on either their least profitable and over served customers, or on customers who are not served at all. The process is repeatable and fascinating, and can be followed over and over again in the history of such innovative companies as Kodak, Sears, Sony, McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines, Bloomberg, eBay, and Google.

At WR Hambrecht + Co., we consider disruptive companies to be the lifeblood of our business. We have pioneered the use of an auction-based platform for bringing these companies public, called OpenIPO ^®. We consider our own innovation a disruptive one, and feel that it appeals to companies that appreciate and understand the power of disruptive innovation. We are constantly searching for ideas, products, or companies that we find meet Professor Christensen’s definition of disruption, and organize our underwriting efforts around those companies and ideas. One reason is because we know that disruptive innovators understand OpenIPO, but another is because these companies represent wonderful investment opportunities, both as private companies, and as publicly traded ones. Our mission is to help both the buyers and the sellers look smart in an IPO. We feel that by identifying innovative companies and using the OpenIPO auction to take them public, we provide a great service to the seller and the buyer.

The Disruption Forum is a collection of opinion, research and discussion that is organized around the broad theme of disruptive innovation. Read the articles, enjoy Bill’s point of view, buy the books, and above all, visit our blog and remain in tune with WR Hambrecht + Co as we seek out disruptive innovators that will change the way that business is done.