HOUGHTON - A group of experts were featured in a forum Tuesday evening at Michigan Technological University where the campus community and the public were welcome to ask questions about directions in technology, innovation and business opportunities.
This is the second time the forum, this year called the Entrepreneur Forum 2.0, was hosted to expose students, faculty, staff and the community to successful business leaders on the east and west coasts.
In a panel discussion in the Minerals and Materials Engineering Building on campus, the public was welcome to interact with three experts, including Paul R. Fulton, a 1984 graduate of Michigan Tech and investor/consultant in Los Gatos, Calif.; Martha N. Sullivan, a 1980 graduate and president, chief operating officer and director of Sensata Technologies Inc., out of Attleboro, Mass.; and David House, a 1965 graduate and executive chair of Brocade Communication Systems in San Jose, Calif.
"We started last year, inviting entrepreneurs and movers and shakers," said Adam Johnson, assistant director of corporate development at Michigan Tech.
The forum kicked off with comments from David Reed, vice president for research, who acted as the moderator.
"A long time ago, there was a movie actress named Tallulah Bankhead, who was a very famous actress," Reed said. "At one point in her life, she said, 'If I had to live my life over again, I'd make the same mistakes only sooner.' I'd like to hear what each of you think about that."
Each executive talked about past start-ups and fails, giving the nearly 60 participants a look at corporate America. All agreed that moving forward isn't without hiccups, even if it be the occasional failure and restart.
"In the start-up world, it's really good to fail fast," Fulton said. "If you don't, you're spending a lot of time and a lot of energy on, perhaps, a company that's surviving but not thriving."
The panelists said failure is inevitable but it's how to respond to the situation, and pick yourself back up that matters. Sullivan talked about all the technology that could have been and also the number of products that have failed.
"They're all mistakes of omission," she said. "It's the chances I didn't take."
House said a critical mistake people make is not taking risks by being scared of the outcome, telling the crowd it may be better to fail than to not try.
"Experience is something you get right after you need it," he said.
Audience members asked when it is the right time to start a company even in a struggling economy and asked about taking risks, while assessing if taking the risk is worthy. In response, the executives talked about working for Intel, creating Wi-Fi and Steve Jobs' dedication to technology.
"I can't tell you the number of tries we had with Intel only to fail," House said.
During the 90-minute forum, the executives answered prepared questions from Reed and took questions from the audience, including how they see technology evolving over the next 10 years. House said he expects to see health care move into a more technological age and being able to handle various actions from one hand-held device, like an iPhone. The executives also talked about the importance of a good team of employees and following intuition.
The executives also met with officials at the MTEC SmartZone and the resident companies, including GE Aviation and Ford IT Center.
Today, a special networking event will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts with light hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.
