This document provides advice on becoming a successful entrepreneur or leader through innovation. It discusses determining your passions and strengths, emerging opportunities, and viable business models. The key steps are to know your value, find your passion, create a vision and mission statement, and develop an innovation plan that protects ideas and leads to implementation. Resources for funding and advice are available at universities and government programs. Successful innovation requires protecting ideas, collaborating with experts, and planning for implementation and exit strategies. Leading with innovation is rewarding but requires treating your business differently than academia or corporations.

1. Making Financial Success
Happen-
MakeYour Dream a Reality
Why Innovation and Leadership are the Keys to
Your Success and Standing Out inYour Career
Dr. Pamela McCauley, Ph.D., CPE
Professor & Director, Ergonomics Laboratory
Industrial Engineering & Management Systems
University of Central Florida
President & Chief Technology Officer
TransformingYour STEM Career, Inc.
Orlando, FL

2. What type of entrepreneur or leader do
you want to be? Research
business
Renowned
Scientist
Consulting
business
Research
consultant
Service
business
Corporate
Leader

3. How to Decide:
Your passion and
purpose
1
Your professional
strengths, research,
experience, and
expertise
2
Emerging
opportunities
business, corporate
or leadership
opportunities
3
Access and
relationships
4
Viable “business”
model possible
5

4. Best Case Scenario
• expertise
• experience
• passion
Integrate your
• relationships
• resources
• professional network
with your
• a small business
• entrepreneur
• corporate leader
in order to meet a current
and emerging business
need as

5. How to do it?
Know
Know that it
is a business
NOT a
university
project
Decide
Decide what
you want to
do
Give
Give yourself
a timeline to
achieve “kick
off”
Determine
Determine
the resources
that are
available
Determine
Determine
who will be
on “your
team”
Protect
Protect your
ideas
Create
Create an
initial plan
and timeline
Understand
Understand
what it takes
to “manage,”
maintain, and
grow the
business

6. When to do it?
 Factors to consider
 Phase of your career
 Time sensitive issues surrounding the
opportunity
 Accessibility to key relationships
 Funding opportunities
 Impact on your personal life

7. My Entrepreneurial
History
 ExpertWitness
 Tech Solutions, Inc.
 Top Secret Weave, Inc.
 Bush Enterprises, Inc.
 TransformingYour STEM
Career, Inc.

8. ExpertWitness
 Sole proprietorship initiated in 1994
 Ergonomics, biomechanics, occupational
safety and product liability expert
witnessing
 My area of expertise, experience and
passion
 Able to differentiate myself:
 Professor, level of experience and
expertise
 Access to labs/faculty
 Textbook author
 Strong communication skills
 Certifications

9. Tech Solutions, Inc.
Founded in 1999
as a partnership
with a university
colleague
• Ended
partnership 2
years into
business
01
Initiated as a
result of my HFE
consulting
02
DoD Contracting
business
03
SBA 8a certified
04
Offices:
Orlando, FL and
Albuquerque,
NM
05
Closed in 2012
after SBA 8a
graduation
06
Issue: Difficulty
in business
“differentiating”
itself
07

10. Top SecretWeave, Inc.
 Founded in 2001 due to
personal interest and
opportunity in Black Hair Care
industry
 Innovative concept developed
 Issue: Not my expertise;
Lacked relationships,
knowledge and depth of
experience in the field
 Closed in 2005

11. Tech
Solutions/Bush
Enterprises, Inc.
 Partnership that was developed to
continue the work ofTech
Solutions.net, Inc. afterTSI graduated
from the SBA 8a Program
 Issue: Difficulty differentiating the
business; no IP and not my area of
passion
 Ended partnership in 2012

12.  Founded in 2012
Research & ExpertWitness
Leadership & Professional
Development
Program Evaluation
 Establishing IP
 Top NotchTeam
 Business plan
 SBIR submissions
 Seeking investors
My Expertise,
Experience,
AND Passion!!!
www.TramsformingYourSTEMCareer.com

13. 13
T-STEM’S ALGONITE TM
Algonite will accelerate
global research
opportunities by
streamlining collaborative
and social connections
among STEM professionals
There does not currently
exist any other platform
that is conclusively effective
in facilitating collaborative
initiatives among all STEM
professionals seeking more
inclusive and diverse
research teams.
A secure network for
scientists to engage in social
media for the purpose of
connecting, collaborating,
and disseminating scientific
information or perspectives.

14. CreateYourTeam
Identify a trusted
person that can be
your “Innovation
soundboard”
Develop a core team of
(3 to 5)
supporters/advocates
with key areas of
knowledge that you
can trust
• Business, technical, legal,
strategic and financial
guidance

15. CreateYour Micro-Innovation Eco-
system
Idea
generation
plan
01
Product
innovation
strategy
02
Talent and
expertise
resources
03
Technology
transfer
strategy
04
Funding
options and
strategies
05

16. Resources! Resources! Resources!
 University incubators
 NSF I-Corps
 SBIR/STTR
 TechnologyTransfer
offices
 Small Business
DevelopmentCenters
 Crowd Funding…

17. CreatingYour Path
Know your
value
01
Find your
passion
02
Personal vision
statement
03
Personal
mission
statement
04
Roadmap
05
Alignment:
individuals,
organization
and community
06

18. FindYour Passion
What excites,
energizes or
angers you?
What did you
dream of doing as
a child?
Apply this
approach:
• Obtain information
• Talk to people in the
area
• Engage in a situation
to gain an experience

19. PersonalVision Statement
 Vision Statement (long-term perspective)
 A statement that represents the holistic view, intention, and purpose of your life and
career.
 This statement is described with global or high level words and should be original and
specific to the values, passion, and life views that you hold.

20. Personal Mission Statement
 Mission Statement
 Statement of goals to be attained in support of the vision;
 1 to 3 years timeframe
 The mission statement consists of actions that you will follow to achieve your vision.
 The statements connect specific action to your vision.

21. Innovation Initiation
 Find a need
 Know what you know – know
what you don’t know
 Don’t be afraid to think
differently
 Know the market/customer

22. Innovation Instantiation
Determine who
wants this
innovation
01
Protect your
idea/innovation
02
Create a brief
but clear
explanation of
the innovation
03
Identify
potential
collaborators
04
WILLANYONE
PAY FOR IT?!!
05

23. Innovation Introspection
Decide if/how you want
to take the innovation to
the finish line
 Will you hand it off?
 Partner with others?
 Will you lead it?
 How much control to
maintain?

24. Innovation Implementation
Draft a plan to develop the
idea to at least a “proof of
concept”
Plan toward an “end result”
• University relationship
• Funding for proof of concept and
product development
• SBIR/STTR funding
• Venture capital funding

25. PlanYour Exit Strategy
Yes, you will want to exit…Want
Get professional adviceGet
Have fun!Have

26. Final words of encouragement…
A small business is very different from academia and the corporate world
Differentiate yourself – value proposition
Add value – get Intellectual Property!
Manage Conflict of Interest
Know and USE your resources
Demanding but very rewarding
Just do it!

27. Innovative Leadership
is a Lifestyle