Today's guest speaker in my i-Teams class was Prof. Eugene Fitzgerald who spoke about entrepreneurship and the semiconductor industry. He shared his entrepreneurial experience with the class on starting 3 companies in the semiconductor and advanced materials industries.

Prof. Fitzgerald stayed around after class to talk to students who were eager to listen to his insights to the evolution of the semiconductor industry. He suggested that if we are going to start a new enterprise in the high-tech industry, it is okay to create a breakthrough product that initially foster poorer performance. The word "poor" as explained by the professor doesn't allude to non value-added. A product may have poor performance but if it is inexpensive to produce and that the market is ready for it, the production/sale of the product will still be a viable business model. At this point, I uttered "Hey, isn't this is disruptive technology" as described by Clayton Christensen. I have always heard how disruptive technology should be handled in corporate strategies of incumbent companies. Christensen did suggest that incumbent companies create spin-off companies to pursue new breakthrough technology. However, in the context of a new startup, it is refreshing to hear how disruptive technologies or innovations are considered and harnessed in pure startups. After thanking Prof. Fitzgerald for spending the extra time with the students, I found out that he is currently working on a project with 2 circuit designers whom I know at a startup company that he co-founded. What a small world...

11/21/2005 10:49:55 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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