Advice to Engineers, My lessons learned going from Engineer to Entrepreneur to Professor

Advice to Engineers

Steven A. Gedeon, PEng, PE, BSc, MSc, PhD, MBA
sgedeon@ryerson.ca

Today’s Presentation
• My Journey
– Engineer
– Entrepreneur
– Academic

• 8 Key Lessons
• Entrepreneurship and Personal
Leadership
• Q&A
© Dr. Steven A. Gedeon

Steven A. Gedeon

Engineer

• Started My Career as an Engineer
– BSc (OSU) Industrial and Welding Engineering
– MSc (MIT) Materials Engineering
– PhD (MIT) Materials Science and Engineering
– PEng Licenced Professional Engineer in Canada
– PE Licenced Professional Engineering in US

• 10 Years Work as an Engineer
– US Army (Advanced Materials and Manufacturing)
– Italy (Advanced Materials)
– Canada (Industrial Systems)

Steven A. Gedeon

Engineer


Lesson #1
“Find Your Niche – Specialize – Be Different”
•Become REALLY GOOD at Something!
– Specialists paid better than Generalists
– Value of extra-curricular Learning
• Internships, volunteering, projects…

•Follow what’s going on in the World
– Read Blogs, News, Trends…

Lesson #2
“Learn How to Work Hard”
•School is Easy
– Don’t develop Lazy or Sloppy Habits
– Build your Character and Habits NOW

•Get Good Grades
• If you can’t be a Good Student – Why would anyone
believe you will be a Good Employee?

Lesson #3
“Nobody Cares about Technology”
•They Care about Benefits to the Customer
– Technology must be delivered through
Products and Services
• Price, Features, Ease of Use…

– Focus on the Customer/User
• Design Thinking – Product Design

Steven A. Gedeon

Entrepreneur

• Shifted My Career to Business and Entrepreneurship
– MBA Part-Time in the Evenings
– Jobs as VP Sales, Marketing, CTO, CFO

• 10 Years Work as an Entrepreneur
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–
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–

Venture Capital
Turnaround Work as CEO/President
Public Company CEO
Started Several VCs, Non-Profits and Companies


Steven A. Gedeon
•

CEO, 3DNA Corp. (3D Graphics, New Media Technology, Shareware Product)
–

•

A Few Jobs…

6 Rounds Financing, Over 1M Users, 100 Articles, Book, Fan Sites, 130 Countries, Global Clients

Director of Technology, Commercialization & New Ventures, Jaycor
– $100 Million Corp VC in High Tech

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•

Venture Capitalist, Primaxis Technology Ventures (Royal Bank Seed Capital VC)
CEO, Ashurst Tech (TSE-listed, Commercialize Soviet Top-Secret Military Tech)
– $60M Raised, 26 Subsidiaries in 15 Countries, Turnaround Situation

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Venture Capitalist, World Wise Tech (CDNX-listed VC and Operations Mgt Firm)
President, Impel Power Products (Mechatronic Systems)
General Manager, Mentalogic Systems (Artificial Intelligent Control Systems)
VP BizDev, General Cybernetics (Robotic Controllers)
CTO, HoloFX (3D Display Technology and Content Management)
VP BizDev, Lynx Systems (IT Solutions)
VP Corp Finance, Space Database (Application Service Provider)
VP Sales/Marketing, Toronto MicroElectronics (Single Board Computers)


Lesson #4
“All Problems are People Problems”
•Need to Learn How to Lead People
– How to Motivate
– How to Ensure they Do the Right Things
– How to Lead – not just Manage


Lesson #5
“A Rising Tide Lifts all Boats”
(“When the Wind is Blowing Hard enough even
Turkeys can Fly”)

•Need to know Trends and Spot
Opportunities
•Invest your Life like you would Invest your
Money (Pick a good career path)

Steven A. Gedeon

Academic

• Entrepreneurship Professor at Ted Rogers School of
Management, Ryerson University
– Teach the year-long Capstone Experiential Course in Entrepreneurship

Director, Ryerson Entrepreneur Institute (REI)
Director, Ryerson Angel Network
Director, Dobson Micro-Financing Seed Venture Fund
Faculty Advisor, Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE)
Faculty Advisor, Digital Media Zone (DMZ)
Publisher, Entrepreneurial Practice Review Journal
Chairman, CEO Fusion
Chairman, Research Committee, National Angel Capital
Organization
• Education Committee, National Angel Capital Organization
• Co-Leader, iSTEM (Business Program for Engineers)
• Docent, Ostfalia Germany
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Steven A. Gedeon

Academic

• 20+ Awards including Presidents Award of Teaching Excellence
and Prosperity Leadership Award
• 35+ Regional and National Entrepreneurship Championships
• Global Leader in Student Engagement and Empowerment
• Largest Student-Run Social Entrepreneurship Program in
Canada (Empower Others through Positive Power of Business)
• 5000+ Homeless Youth, Disabled, At-Risk Youth, Teenaged
Mothers, Aboriginals, Immigrants, African Villagers…
• Largest Social Entrepreneurship Competition in Canada
• Largest Business Plan Competition in Canada
• Started 500+ Companies


Steven A. Gedeon

Academic


Lesson #6
“Be Important to Someone”
(“Have a Great Mission”)

•Excite Yourself
•Excite Your Employees
•Excite Your Customers
•Excite Your Employers

Lesson #7
“The True Nature of Entrepreneurship”
•The Most Important Lesson of All
•Not about Being an Engineer…
•Not about Starting a Business…
•Not about Making Customers Happy…

Entrepreneurship
• Integration of Business (or Engineering) and
Personal Success
• Integration of What You Do with Who You Are
• The Person IS the Business
• If you are unhappy, the business is unhappy
• If you fail, the business fails
• You must Lead Yourself before you can Lead
Others

Entrepreneurship
• Looking at what IS and Seeing what CAN
or OUGHT TO BE
• Knowing that YOU Can Make it Happen!


Entrepreneurship
• Fundamental to the Human Spirit
• Not Just a Business Discipline
• A Way of Seeing, Thinking and Being


Entrepreneurship
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”
» M. Gandhi

“To move the world – we must first move
ourselves”
» Socrates


Entrepreneurship
• Most Empowering, Freedom-Loving and
Creative Force in the World
– Take charge of your own life
– Take charge of your own future and happiness
– Take charge of your ability to create change
• Within an Employer
• To start your Own Company, Product or Service
• To create Social Change
• To create a Better YOU!

Personal Success
comes from Harmony
ACTIONS
GOALS
VALUES & BELIEFS
REALITY

Keepin’ It Real
• Be Really Good at Something!
– Find your Niche - Specialization
– Prove It with Good Grades

• You Get Out What You Put In
– Hard Work, Excellent Habits, Character

REALITY


Make Deep Connections
• Be Really Important!
– To Customers, Employees, Stakeholders

• Be Important to YOURSELF
• Connect at a Deeper Level than $$

VALUES & BELIEFS


Set Great Goals
• Higher Goals > Higher Performance
– Hierarchy of Goals
– Near and Long-Term Goals

• What Gets Measured Gets Done
• Stumbling Along vs. Planning

GOALS


uc
Ed

Long-Term Goals
Yearly Goals
Monthly Goals
Weekly Goals

So
cia
l

mu
nity

Fin a
n c ia

ily
am
F

m
Co

er
are
C

l

al

l
na

si c

o
ati

Ph y

Men
tal

The Well Balanced Life


Actions Speak Louder than…
• Make and Keep Commitments
– To Others and to Yourself!

• Character
• Lead by Example (yourself & others)

ACTIONS


Lesson #8
“Develop an Attitude”
•Knowledge
– Math, Physics, Dynamics, Statics…

•Skills and Competencies
– Problem-Solving, People Skills…

•Attitudes and Beliefs
– Empowerment, Internal Locus of Control, Goal
and Action Orientation, Positivity…

Entrepreneurship is Experiential
•
•
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Like Playing the Guitar
Need to Build Your Muscles!
Get Started on Something!
Failure is OK!


Opportunities
• Half the products/service you will buy in 510 years have not yet been invented…
• Half the products/services you will buy in
10-20 years have not yet been
conceived…


In 10 Years…
• Free, Almost Infinite Bandwidth AND Processing
Power
• Non Invasive Health Devices
• Pilotless Electric Cars and Planes
• Free Education for the Masses
• 3D On-Demand Entertainment (Holodeck)
• Abundant Cheap Water
• Storable, Fresh Instant Meals
• Cures for Cancer, AIDS, Malaria
• Genetic Disease Prediction
• New Lifeforms


Creating Value

Who will Create these New Products
and Services???


Advice to Engineers, My lessons learned going from Engineer to Entrepreneur to Professor

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