Telephony Translations

Telephony Translations, Inc. (A)

Evaluate Dave Santolli’s entrepreneurial thinking and leadership at Faxtech and TTI.

What lessons and insights are most important for you here.

Evaluate the progress and situation facing TTI in 2006, what should the company do, the investors do, the directors do?

Dave thinks that the entrepreneurial opportunity is having an idea for a product or service that is a breakthrough. For example, his idea of providing faxes services at a lower rate using a redialer/network switch in the telecommunications sector where no company has provided such services at such low rate. He charged 50 cents a fax, his competitors charged 80, but his Faxtech company went bankrupt because they did not anticipate and prepare for the telecom regulations that lower the fax rate to only 25 cent a fax. Another of his entrepreneurial thinking, that is characteristic of a breakthrough in the industry if it works, is the development of a product or system program that bridges the use of regular, landline telephones with the internet.

His leadership at Faxtech is that of a charismatic leader. Everyone, board of directors, management, and employees follow him because they believe in him, his ability, and his ideas. He has the hearty collaboration and the personal, human touch that a leader should have. At TTI, however, he is less of a charismatic leader but more like a delegative leader, who delegates his work and functions to other and shares his responsibilities with the CEO that replaces him. The board of directors and investors do not follow him and do what he wants. They question him now that he has a pending lawsuit against him that questions his fiduciary responsibilities. He has, I guess, learned his lessons from the failures with Faxtech and has become more receptive and understanding of why directors and investors would not fully trust him and follow him. He has a very optimistic view of an entrepreneurial venture. He seems so optimistic...