Sacramento Entrepreneur Breaks New Ground In Startup Management
Entrepreneurs who succeeded in a prior venture have a 30 percent chance of succeeding in their next venture, according to a study on serial entrepreneurs and venture capital. The study showed that first-time founders have an 18 percent chance of success while those who previously failed have a 20 percent chance of succeeding. This finding could help explain why investors are more likely to fund a serial entrepreneur.
One business leader, Jim Marggraff, took a bachelor's and master's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in electrical engineering and computer science and spun them into gold. After graduating MIT, he held various technical and engineering roles, most notably at StrataCom. Over eight years, he transitioned from engineering to management, marketing, sales and business development before moving on to a string of ventures.
Marggraff co-founded Explore Technologies in 1995 and served as president and VP of sales and marketing before moving on to LeapFrog, where he held various executive positions. More recently, he founded LiveScribe, where he developed the business plan, raised funding, recruited a team and launched the company. Marggraff remains vice-chairman of LiveScribe's board, focused on strategy, partnerships and technological direction, while founding his most ambitious venture yet, Eyefluence, in 2013, with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"We acquired our technology for determining gaze direction and monitoring eye motion in a wearable device from Eye-Com, which developed the technology from the late 90's through 2012 with nearly $15 million in government grants from the DoD, DoT, and others," Marggraff said. "Drawing from over a decade of studies, algorithm development, optics and illumination system design and field applications, we are advancing our technology into the next generation of wearable computers."
Marggraff said his experience as a serial entrepreneur was instrumental in "developing and launching a new mobile computing platform to advance learning, personal productivity, communication and thinking for all ages of people worldwide." He counts as his specialties, "product vision, innovation, entrepreneurship, founding new companies, corporate leadership and management, funding, business development, marketing, new product development, recruiting, public speaking, PR, inventions and patents."
Residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Greg is a patented inventor, technology enthusiast and intrepid journalist. He finds inspiration in diverse experiences, organizations, people and places -- from restaurants to politics, movies, music and, most of all, his daughter.
