New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

Semi-Conductor Process Engineer Seeks Advice

Question

I found your site after having seen DVDs of a couple presentations that Wade Myers did at the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp in 2006.  The perspective presented there was a new one for me after working for several decades in the conventional worker economy.  I'm a thirty year veteran of semiconductor manufacturing and process development and have a typical engineering temperament in the sense of being analytical and introspective, i.e. not the ideal sales personality!  I'm trying to figure out how to best be entrepreneurial given that truth.  Can you point me to good counsel on that subject?

Thanks for all your good work.

Answer

Given your experience, skills and personality, I would suggest looking for some type of subject matter expert opportunity.  In other words, can you sell your expertise by the hour to the semi-conductor industry?  Are there very specific problems and issues the industry struggles with that you have particular expertise in solving?  Are there any specific processes that you could spin out and outsource back to your current employer?  Do you have any breakthrough ideas for solving thorny issues in the industry that you could patent and produce a product to solve and sell it back to the industry?  Given the current context of slowing sales, perhaps for years to come, is there a lower-cost retrofit type of service you can offer to current PC owners to upgrade their present machines rather than buy new?  Look for ways to build a "value proposition" that fits the times as well as your skills and industry expertise.

Kurt Eilander February 17, 2009

As an embedded programmer myself, I definitely feel your pain. (And, yes, "it's a hardware problem", BTW ;) )

Anyway, the advice given is great (as usual), but be sure to check over the non-disclosure form you signed with your company. And look at it VERY carefully. Some are really restrictive. One place I worked for worded it such that ANY patent (work-related or not) I filed within 5 years of working there belonged to the company! Nasty!

On another note, as one with the same introverted personality, I'd have to recommend breaking through that ASAP. You have a whole lot of knowledge to offer, but it does no good if it's locked away. (Preaching to myself here.)

You might consider reading up on Theodore Roosevelt (a man who overcame his shyness -- in spades) also joining a local Tostmasters (or similar) group. Maybe even consider performing in a community concert or play, try stand-up comedy on an open-mic night, get involved in city government, street evangelism... anything that hurls you headlong out of your comfort zone is good.

Hope that helps.
God Bless,
-Kurt

Paul Brandon June 10, 2009

I'm an Industrial Engineer and I worked inside a well-known semiconductor company that specializes in CPUs.
I seem to remember that the biz was capital-intensive, for design software as well as for anything resembling production or testing.
While consulting sounds attractive, one must always be in sales mode, booking the next engagement or suffer the ups-and-down cycles of less than full engagement. The constant sales pressure does not fit well with introverts.
I would suggest investigating a technical sales site for industry-related books and magazines as a niche market. If one could combine one-off resource sales with audio or video content of industry leaders and industry intelligence as a subscription service, then you can approach a good business model.

You develop much of your web content offline at your own pace, then see the results, often sixty to ninety days later as different search engines index and rank your site content.

If you are a thirty year veteran, hopefully you are in a place where you are looking to change your focus rather than to support a young family or fund a full withdrawal from society in full retirement. A model as I've described above will force you to stay in contact with people worthy of interviewing, but you have a bit of a "shield" behind the monitor and keyboard.

We're running an e-commerce business after having a retail venture for six years. I'm much happier working with our current model.

Regards and Godspeed,

Paul

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