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Published: October 2007
James T. Woo left RPI in 1983 to found InterScience, Inc. Learn about his company and its role in the 2007 Economic Summit.
Success Magazine: How do you balance your career and your personal life?
James T. Woo: The key is to have the proper perspective on one's priorities and the priority should be based on broad perspective. That balance actually has much to do with my forming the company such that career and personal life are intermingled and share the same objectives. Our company has an unwritten rule that everyone understands that you are expected to do your personal best, but family always comes first when you are needed, and the company is an extended family.
SM: In 1980, while on the faculty for RPI, you founded InterScience, Inc. Why did you decide to go into business for yourself?
JW: As a faculty member, one is expected to teach students of what you know and secure funding for more basic research. I had interest in pursuing some more applied research which I was able to do on my own, and that activity soon led to more work than I could do on a part-time basis, and I had to take on employees of my own. Eventually, I had to make a choice, and going full-time with the company actually gives me more freedom to work with smart people. I can hire them and work on things I don't know very well, which is more interesting. Actually, the environment at InterScience is not very different from an academic institution. The main difference is you don't have to walk into a classroom at prescribed times, but you do have to make sure you can meet payroll all the time.
SM: What kind of business plan did you have?
JW: Starting a research and development company is somewhat different from starting a product or service company, although in a way, an R&D company is a service company. Basically, it only takes the confidence that you can secure R&D funding to go into business. In my case, it actually is the amount of R&D funding that drove me to go into business full-time. The business plan in my mind was to secure government R&D funding and then commercialize the results through licensing or spin-offs. In this regard, after all these years, we are still stuck in continuously doing R&D and have not had the time or resources to do any serious commercialization.
SM: There is a high rate of failure for first-year businesses. What was your first year like?
JW: Many startups fail after a few years for a variety of reasons, but failure in the first year is most likely due to not having properly thought through all aspects of starting a venture. In our case, we were very fortunate that adequate funding was not an issue and having the financial resources can solve a lot of problems, but certainly not without a lot of headaches and 24/7 attention.
SM: How did you come to speak at the 2007 Economic Summit: Entrepreneurship and Growth in Upstate New York?
JW: I had met Congresswoman Gillibrand, who sponsored the Summit, I think only twice before the event and had the opportunity to tell her about my company and what we have been doing. From that, and perhaps suggestions by others, she apparently directed her staff to invite me to chair the session on "Moving Innovations into the Marketplace" and I appreciated the opportunity because, as I said in my talk, I would be happy to share my frustrations in trying to overcome the barriers to move innovations into the market place. I am very impressed by what Congresswoman Gillibrand has done still in her first term in identifying the issues important to the region and working to address them.
SM:In your speech "Moving Innovations into the Marketplace" you discuss how many ideas and innovations at local universities fail to ever get off the ground. Why do you think that is?
JW:There are many reasons that ideas and innovations fail to get off the ground. They can be bad ideas, bad timing, inadequate resources, etc. etc. The important question to ask is not why they fail, but what can and should be done to facilitate moving innovations into the marketplace. That was what I tried to convey in my talk and in the session.
SM:If people could only remember one thing from your speech, what would you want it to be?
JW: Moving innovation into the market place is a highly non-linear process and often serendipitous. Persistence is important but only if one has done the homework properly.
SM: What plans do you have to help universities better coordinate with businesses to make those unrealized ideas become practical reality?
JW: The B-Plan run by RPI once a month is a great way to give exposure to innovations, but they are generally already fairly mature technologies. I have suggested that universities should regularly do an industry day, perhaps annually or biannually, to have faculty present the research they are doing for industry to learn and identify possible applications that may or may not have been thought of, such as one has technology push on one end and industry application pull from the other end to facilitate transition. This can also be done in the form of a newsletter.
SM: Do you envision any major stumbling blocks that may hinder your efforts?
JW: Intellectual property rights are often a stumbling block, but more and more universities are taking a more enlightened view to this issue. I think connecting the technology supplier to the technology user is the key. When you have interest on both sides the stumbling blocks go away.
SM: How does InterScience figure in the economic expansion in the Capital Region and Upstate New York?
JW: Our role is the same as many other technology R&D companies in the region, and for that matter, nationwide: to transition our technology into the market place. In our case, we are currently focusing on the defense and homeland security market which we are working towards contributing to a growth in that sector in the Capital Region.
SM: How do you continue to foster the creativity that an organization like InterScience needs to thrive?
JW: We bring on new hires not only to fill an immediate need, but the person brings a new dimension to the company. You give them space to share their ideas and develop their interest and recognize their contributions.
SM: What goals do you have for InterScience?
JW: To transition our portfolio of technologies into the market place.
SM: Where do you think InterScience will be in five years?
JW: InterScience will be a technology holding company that will continue to do R&D for both outside customers as well as for its holdings in the form of subsidiaries to expand their products and revenues.
SM: What's on the horizon for you personally?
JW: Move away from day-to-day management and shift more towards developing relations to grow the company.
SM: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
JW: Having balanced my business and personal lives, having grown children who are independently doing well, being married to the same loving and caring person for more than 40 years, and having kept the company going now for 26 years with some employees that have been there for almost that long.
SM: What are some of the personal or professional obstacles you've had to overcome to achieve your level of success?
JW: Personal obstacles? There may be some but obviously I haven't noticed since they have not stopped me. Professional obstacles? Yes, I wish I was smarter and more knowledgeable about everything.
SM: To what do you attribute your enormous success?
JW: Nothing, because I have not achieved enormous success, or for that matter, success.
SM: Who would you say has been most influential in your life? Have you had a mentor along the way?
JW: That recognition goes to the tutor I had as a failing grade school student. He taught me that learning is not about being taught but to explore and learn on your own, and life should be lived multi-dimensionally. After that, learning becomes a passion.
SM: What advice do you have for other academics or entrepreneurs?
JW: Free advice would be and should be freely discarded, so I shall refrain from providing them.
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