Monday, April 1, 2002

Community

Balancing act between strategy, tactics a way of life for Kikta

By Stacey Closser

About a year ago, Roman Kikta left Nokia Corp. for greener pastures in the venture investing industry. During the course of 2001, Kikta founded Genesis Campus L.P., raised a venture fund, made his first investment and discovered the joys of fatherhood. As someone who aims for balance in his life, he's got a lot to work with.

Despite his background in wireless technology, Kikta first considers himself an anthropologist.

"I look at market opportunities from an anthropological, sociological and psychological perspective - how technology is going to impact behaviors and society," said Kikta, general partner of Genesis Campus.

It was the combination of his philosophy on the market and his experience in the wireless space that brought him face to face with Wu-Fu Chen, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor. Upon meeting, the two discovered their backgrounds complemented each other and decided to create Genesis Campus, a technology business incubator, accelerator and early stage funding source based in Richardson.

Partnering with venture capital firms Austin Ventures, Dali, Hook Partners and Vertex Management delivered about $60 million to Genesis Campus' first fund in 2001.

The firm made its first investment during 2001, participating in Spatial Wireless Inc.'s $8.1 million first-round funding. Kikta expects Spatial to be a "major player" within the next couple of years as third-generation wireless products and applications are pushed out to the marketplace.

Kikta already has co-written four books, including "Wireless Internet Crash Course," "3G for Wireless Demystified" and "Delivering xDSL," and he is under contract for two more.

Kikta earned his bachelor's degree in history and economics from Rutgers University in New Jersey. He has spent the last 18 years engulfed in the wireless industry, working for Panasonic Communications and Systems Co., GoldStar and OKI Telecom.

He most recently served as the director of strategy and business creation for Nokia Ventures Organization. The job had him traveling 230 days out of the year. Kikta traded in his jet-setting ways for the life of a family man. He hasn't looked back.

His focus these days is balance, at home and at work.

"That's what we're looking for in our portfolio," he said. It's not just telecommunications. It's information technology, which includes hardware, software, components and application services, he said.

Genesis Campus' approach to investing is more than strategic, he said, it's also tactical.

"We take a very hands-on approach. It's not enough to be an investor. You need to go and make things happen," Kikta said.