But unlike the protected environment of a start-up backed by venture capital or an incubator, Crone faces somewhat of an innovator's dilemma because he is part of publicly traded company. There is great pressure to contribute materially to CyberCash's overall financial results although his division is still in the start-up phase. In the Internet world, faster is better. To accelerate the building of his business, Crone leverages his resources through partnerships.
Crone knows the value of partnerships.
He completed the Marshall EMBA program in 1987 with his life partner, Heidi Liebenguth-Crone. According to Crone, they were the first married couple to complete the EMBA program together. CyberCash is recognized as the world's leading provider of secure electronic commerce payment solutions, and CyberCash is the first firm to offer multiple payment types including credit and check. Crone says the companies operating back then, such as IBM, Burroughs, NCR and others operated independently. Today you do not enter the market unless you can identify how to collaborate with potential competitors to reach customers and to build markets.