Print
Email
Print Edition Stories
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
MHT All-Star Russell Wilcox: Passionate entrepreneur
By Jim Schakenbach, Special to Mass High Tech
Cable, telecom companies see net neutrality battle
Companies born in the recession
MooBella provides on-demand ice cream demo
Who he is: President and CEO of Cambridge-based electronic paper display developer E-Ink.
What makes him tick: Passion has been a cornerstone in his life, enabling him to rack up an impressive professional track record, including most recently Ernst & Young’s 2009 Entrepreneur of The Year. As a businessman in a scientific world, Wilcox discovered early on that he was drawn toward the business end of things. “I loved science in high school, but I realized in college that I was really drawn more toward business. What I love about it is the huge room you have to be creative. That’s just fun. … I really like passionate people — people who love what they’re doing, no matter what it is. If you really like to sell hot dogs, I’m going to like you.”
Education: Bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics, Harvard University; MBA, Harvard Business School.
Making a difference: “We are all connected by the human condition. It’s important to find meaning in your life and make your time count.” He is doing just that with E-Ink, developing breakthrough technology in the form of thin, paper-like electronic displays used in a wide range of products, such as e-books. ”I think this technology will have a profound effect on civilization. It will revolutionize how people read and look at things.”
Accomplishments: “Six years ago, E-Ink was almost out of money. We burned a lot of cash, and all we had to show for the investment were some paper patents. But people saw the passion in our company and enabled us to keep plugging away at it to make it successful. We didn’t give up, and that’s what counts.”
On family: “I’ve been doing tech entrepreneurship for 14 years, and I’m proud to say my family’s still together. I’ve seen a lot of people go through the stress of running a startup and not having enough cash to pay people, and it’s hard. I’m proud of my family for sticking together through all that and for letting me do this.”
On Russ Wilcox from J.D. Albert:
J.D. Albert is director of engineering at SRS Energy in Philadelphia and was a co-founder of E-Ink with Wilcox.
What’s Russ Wilcox like?
“Russ has this nervous energy about him. When he’s excited about something, he almost jumps out of his chair. He’s a very intense person, very passionate about what he does.”
An example of his passion:
“When we first started E-Ink, the technology worked at a high voltage. You needed a microscope to see what was going on and we had to use alligator clips to hold things down. Russ was really excited to see how it worked and jumped right in. We kept telling him to be careful, but he grabbed the wrong thing and got quite a shock. That didn’t stop him, though, he was still interested.”
What makes him unique?
“He’s got an incredibly sharp mind. He can think strategically and raise money, but he wants to know technically what’s going on beyond just a basic understanding.”
Comments
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
RSS Feeds
