IEEE is the world’s largest professional technology association. Their magazine, IEEE Spectrum, is a monthly magazine for technology innovators, business leaders, and the intellectually curious. Spectrum explores future technology trends and the impact of those trends on society and business.   Content from the magazine can be viewed online at their website, IEEE Spectrum Online.

One recent article caught our eye.  The article is a short interview of Zoltan Cendes on his experiences of starting a business while a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The interview is a brief yet interesting looking into the challenges of commercializing research technology.  Zoltan is now Chairman and CTO of Ansoft, the company he founded.

The interview is a quick read.  We like the reinforcement of several entrepreneurial traits we always stress:

1. As a professor, used to hard work and 60 hour weeks
2. Bootstrapped and self-funded instead of looking for outside investment
3. Focus, optimism and persistence