Once an avid academic, Elemental Machines CEO Sridhar Iyengar learned the norms of entrepreneurship by fire. In this discussion, Srid will discuss how to commercialize the fruits of an academic lab and recount the lessons he had to unlearn when transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship, including:

· – The concept of selling something that doesn’t yet exist

· – Why people buy cars for their cupholders

· – The reality that tech isn’t everything

· – Why innovation can be as simple as a new name

· – How fairy tales can be more valuable than business books

Presenter: A serial entrepreneur in connected medical devices and wearables, Sridhar Iyengar is focused on strategy and management at Elemental Machines. Previously, Sridhar was a founder and director of Misfit, makers of elegant wearable products, which was acquired by Fossil in 2015. Prior to Misfit, he founded AgaMatrix, a blood glucose monitoring company that made the world’s first medical device connecting directly to the iPhone. AgaMatrix shipped 15+ FDA-cleared medical products, 2B+ biosensors, 6M+ glucose meters, with partnerships with Apple, Sanofi, and Walgreens. Sridhar holds over 30 US and international patents and received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar. Beyond Elemental Machines, Sridhar has been known to run 13.1 miles on occasion and has sometimes been spotted on stage behind a wall of drums.