Holiday Wishes

The following is adapted from the year-end wishes that I shared with the outstanding small company that I am part of. It speaks to the values and culture within our startup.

As we conclude the year, I commend each one of you for helping to make 2012 another great year at ZTEC Instruments. Economic uncertainty has made 2012 more difficult than we expected. The year was challenging, partly due to market conditions, and partly due to our choice to aggressively invest in the wireless test market.

What has made this year's results so extraordinary is that we have overcome the unexpected challenges and uncertainty with exceptional focus, efforts and successes in the wireless test area. We are extremely lean and have done more with less. We have moved quickly to provide compelling technology and superior value to our customers. We are assisting those customers to test their 5G Wi-Fi chips, helping them to develop new technology for the next generation of phones, tablets, access points, etc. that will significantly enhance the world's Wi-Fi infrastructure.

In 2012, ZTEC collectively achieved some fantastic successes.  We made some amazing leaps in technology for RF test equipment. We are a small company that is competing and winning against large established and very successful businesses. Agilent and NI are both world-class organizations, and we are beating them technically in a head-to-head competition where they are focusing considerable resources. Essentially, we are better than our peers. Here are some examples:

• we are on our third evolution of technology for 802.11ac Wi-Fi test, whereas our competitors are just introducing their first instruments.
• we have the very best performance for 802.11ac test (-50 dB EVM at 80MHz!)
• we have market-leading features such as dynamic EVM, digital pre-distortion, great test software, etc.
• Frost & Sullivan will be recognizing ZTEC as the only Test & Measurement company in 2012 to deliver price-performance leadership.

How did we accomplish this? Why do we have the best Wi-Fi test instruments on the market? Are we smarter than our competitors? Is it our strategy? Is it luck?

I suggest that we are more disciplined, focused and agile than our competitors. We make decisions and solve problems extremely quickly. We constantly assess that which is important to our customers, and apply our limited resources with laser-like focus. We do this, not only because we have to in order to win in this highly competitive marketplace, but also because our customers demand and deserve the very best technology. At a personal level, this provides professional opportunity for all of us. Our work is challenging, exciting, and we have a great opportunity to make a difference.

We all should be very proud of our accomplishments this year. Every one of us has made significant contributions. We are part of an excellent entrepreneurial team that is able to create the best products in the world on a shoestring budget. It is companies like ours that will create the products and services of the future. Being part of a startup takes a unique individual: someone who is willing to take on challenges and do things that have never been done before.

I thank each one of you for your effort, initiative, and can-do attitude. I celebrate our continued collective success. I wish you and your families the very best this holiday season and look forward to a very prosperous 2013.