Excerpt:
“When the economy stumbles, it’s the branch offices that tend to suffer first,’’ says Colin Angle, chief executive of Bedford-based iRobot Corp. Branch offices tend to employ people already working in the area, whereas headquarters bring new talent to that city, says Angle.Tags: iRobot, robot
And spinoffs, when employees leave to form new companies, also tend to happen more often around headquarters, Angle argues, naming four New England companies all founded by iRobot alumni.
Angle says that by starting a company in an emerging marketplace - mobile robots for the military, industry, and consumers - iRobot was able to remain independent. “If you’re in a well-understood marketplace, then there’s a well-understood acquisition formula,’’ he says.
1 comments:
Hi Thorn,
Colin's statements were convoluted to me. Do you think he was saying that IRBT is well positioned to make acquisitions because other robotic companies are around it? I personally think that makes sense - for example, acquiring Helen's new company after it fully develops a technology to then mass produce & market it via IRBT's larger infrastructure. I think IRBT's stock could explode through acquisitions as I worked for SBC Communications at one point which was at one time the runt of the Baby Bells when they were spun off and is now AT&T again after making multiple acquisitions over time.
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