Côme Laguë

Photo by Gary Laufman

by Robert S. Benchley

Côme Laguë (MBA 1993) has no respect for firms he calls "patent trolls"—holding companies that buy up and bank the intellectual property of closed businesses solely for the purpose of generating income through legal action against perceived infringers. His own company, Zetta Research, is dedicated to rescuing those patents and reselling them to companies that wish to unlock their potential. Of course, the CEO's goal also is to make money, but he also sees his company's efforts as serving a higher purpose.

"Some companies don't find success but still have valuable IP," he says. "That IP tends to be lost, or picked up for little money by companies that don't contribute to the competitiveness of the technology industry. I like salvaging them, then selling them to big corporate buyers. The ideas are often world-changing. They might not be appreciated right now, but that could change in a few years when the markets are right.

"We specialize in restructuring patents, carrying out further development work, then getting them into the hands of strategic buyers who can bring them to market."

Laguë came this route via Nueva Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm he opened in 2004 (and closed in January 2013) that focused on the Internet, software, and mobile spaces. The experience taught him some important lessons, among them the benefits of restricting his number of investments.

"Nueva Ventures had a portfolio of 17 companies, and I took an active role in several of them," says Laguë. "I learned that you spend 90 percent of your time on the companies that don't make it. Investing in fewer companies is more interesting than investing in many, and you have better outcomes. The outcome also tends to be better if I'm actively involved in the companies I invest in."

Laguë's own desire for active involvement is really what he calls his "entrepreneurship gene" kicking in.

"I've always had a bent for the finance side, but I also like to play a strong role in building companies, putting teams together, and managing the operations side of things. Even when I was young, I started a landscaping business that I ran for several years. It taught me customer service, following a rigorous schedule, buying and maintaining equipment, and dealing with employees—all of which have been important in my business career."

Born in Ithaca, New York, Laguë grew up in Montreal, where his father was a professor at McGill University and where he earned an undergraduate degree in electrical and computer engineering. After graduating, he went to work for Monitor Company in Toronto, as a consultant.

"There weren't many strategy consulting firms in Canada at that time," he says. "The clients were in a mix of industries, and the work was very interesting. It required the use of some of my technology skills, but I also did a lot of financial modeling. It was a nice segue to business school."

While at Monitor, Laguë made the acquaintance of two directors, Roger Martin (MBA 1981) and Gerry Throop (MBA 1988). Impressed by what he learned from them about the case method, he applied to HBS, and, after two years at Monitor, left Toronto for Cambridge.

At HBS, Laguë concentrated on entrepreneurship, which included a field study with Howard Stevenson, who later became an active mentor, investor, and advisor in several of Laguë's ventures. Other influential faculty members, he says, were Anita McGahan (MBA 1986) , who taught competition and strategy, and Marco Iansiti, who taught operations strategy.

Just as important, Laguë met both his future business partner and his future wife at HBS.

In 1994, he joined classmate Monique Maddy (MBA 1993) in Africa to become CFO of her telecom startup, Adesemi Communications. Africa was to become one of the focal points in Laguë's career and philanthropic activities. He launched his own telecom company, CDR International, there six years later, after Adesemi had been sold. Today, he is an investment partner in Emrok Tea Factory Ltd., in Kenya, where he also helped build a school in the village of one of his former business partners.

Also while at HBS Laguë met Charlene Li (MBA 1993), who today is founder and managing partner of the Altimeter Group, a technology consulting firm. Both played in the HBS Show band (he the trumpet, she keyboards), and they found a harmony that has resulted in an 18-year marriage, a teenage daughter and son, and occasional business partnerships. Ironically, they both worked at Monitor (their names were next to each other on the company's alphabetical phone directory), but in different cities, so they never met.

Laguë helped Li get Altimeter off the ground, serving as CFO from 2008 to 2011. "As the company grew, other people were able to fill in, and I could spend more time with Zetta Research," he says. "I still contribute unofficially to ongoing strategy and direction. It's not 24 hours a day like before, but we have some lively dinner table conversations."

Post a Comment