This podcast was originally posted on Synap Software Lab's blog: http://journeys.getsynap.com/
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiyroS_LprE autoplay:0]
show notes
This week’s Journeys guest is no stranger to the Chicago tech scene. He sold his last company to IBM in what was the biggest software company exit the city has ever seen. He also just announced his newest venture, Ocient, which just might be his biggest idea yet. Yes, we’re talking about Chris Gladwin – serial entrepreneur, tech ambassador, philanthropist and overall great guy!
While Chris might be best known for the recent sale of his company, Cleversafe, he’s actually been studying and working with technology since the 80s. His unique approach to building hardware and software products alike, has lead him on a crazy successful journey. He was kind enough to share some of the knowledge he’s gleaned from his years in the trenches.
- Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one position, especially when you’re young. Take the time to learn everything you can about the way things work at the company you work for as well as its products and customers.
- Being ahead of the market is a good thing, up to a point. Realistically, you can nudge a market but you can’t fundamentally change timing.
- New companies do best when they develop disruptive technologies that create a new value network between the customer and the vendor.
We know a lot of you will be interested in learning more about Chris’ past companies so here are the links, along with his book recommendation.
Cruise Technologies (Acquired)
MusicNow (Acquired)
Cleversafe (Acquired)
Ocient
The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
Connect with Chris
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-gladwin-7ba42b
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