Original to Search Again by Mike Casper

Meet The Disruptors: Mike Casper of Azumo On The Three Things You Demand To Milkshake Up Your Industry

Be transparent with your team. This is the most important piece of communication I've received. Make sure your team knows what your goals are as a business and how you program on getting there. It's important to have this buy-in at all levels so everyone is on the same page. I also retrieve the squad should know when something goes wrong that may throw those plans off-track. We've had this happen at Azumo, but because our leadership team was transparent, nosotros were able to motility quickly.

As a role of our serial near concern leaders who are shaking things up in their manufacture, I had the pleasance of interviewing Mike Casper.

Mike Casper is the founder and CEO of Azumo , a quantum display engineering company revolutionizing a $130 billion industry. Information technology's LCD two.0™ reflective technology is the first in a generation of loftier performance displays that improve user experience and bombardment life for cease users in consumer, medical, industrial, and educational markets.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know y'all a bit more. Can yous tell us a bit virtually your "backstory"? What led you to this particular career path?

I studied engineering as an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That's where I met my Co-Founder, Tony Nichol, and we worked on a couple projects together. Our working styles really clicked and we had a feeling nosotros would build something neat together.

Tony and I participated in an invention competition through our engineering schoolhouse and won 2d place, which also earned usa some money. Nosotros used that money to file our showtime patent. And so we moved onto a business program contest, brought on our third Co-Founder Shawn Pucylowski, and won second identify, beating out some MBA students. It was those two competitions that really kicked off our business and drive for entrepreneurship.

After the competitions, I got a job in Chicago doing consulting while Tony went to MIT to get his PhD and Shawn went to NYC, and nosotros worked on what is at present Azumo on the side. At that time, it was a totally dissimilar business.

We eventually got our first big pause with an NHL squad who permit u.s.a. do a test run with our lighting technology. Information technology was basically meant to lite upward the advertisement underneath the ice in the hockey rink. This is what initially drove the cadre technical innovation and made u.s. feel similar we had a viable business organisation model.

Tin can you tell our readers what it is about the work you're doing that'southward confusing?

Our lives revolve around screens — they're on our phones, televisions, billboards, laptops, you name it. But for years, screens (LCD screens specifically) take simply gotten brighter and college resolution. It's very much a marketing tactic meant to persuade customers that this telly, for example, is the best one out in that location. Only the problem with this approach is that screens are more ability hungry than ever earlier, not to mention that amount of light shooting direct in your optics tin can exist harmful. The lighting of the screen, for example, is the most power draining part of smartphones.

At Azumo, we're changing all of that with our front light technology. It'south basically a plastic film that's the thickness of a human hair and it's embedded into an LCD screen stack. This allows for screens to utilize up to ninety% less power compared to traditional backlit LCDs — the reason they can do this is because our light guide allows the screen to leverage natural light to illuminate a screen. And when you have that, that means the screen isn't shooting harmful artificial light into your eyes. Not to mention screens no longer accept to fight the sun. How many times have you been exterior and had to put your hand over your telephone so you can see the screen when the sunday is out?

Ultimately, our lite guide engineering science improves user experience and bombardment life. It'due south currently being used in consumer, medical, industrial, and educational markets and can easily integrate into any device. Azumo is poised to disrupt the $130 billion brandish manufacture.

Tin can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Tin can you tell the states what lesson you learned from that?

One of the biggest and all-time mistakes I ever made was quitting my full fourth dimension job after we got the opportunity to paradigm our engineering science with an NHL team. Nosotros really thought that opportunity would catapult our business and so we left our jobs. It turns out that was premature, because at the final second, the team had to cancel our install because they had a clemency issue planned on the day we were supposed to install. That was a lesson learned for me, especially considering we never had a signed contract.

I besides concluded upwardly pledging my house mortgage to get a loan for bankrolling Azumo in its early on days. That was a huge risk I took, especially having a family. Tony, Shawn and I knew we had to act fast since we didn't have jobs, and then this resulted in our first pivot as a company, and it led to the launch of a new production for retail window display advertising.

We all demand a little help forth the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can y'all share a story about how they made an impact?

I've had many mentors over the years that take been a huge assist as nosotros've grown Azumo. A couple in particular really stand out to me.

Cliff Morris, CEO of C3Nano and industry veteran, helped provide advice and guidance on expanding our business in Asia, particularly during COVID when nosotros can't physically be in China.

Norm Soep, the CEO of a global metals and manufacturing conglomerate, has been a crucial mentor for us equally we calibration our business globally and he's helped me a ton with leadership development. There are many nuances that come up with management and manufacturing, and Norm continues to be a great guide for me every bit we practice that.

In today's parlance, beingness confusing is usually a positive adjective. Only is disrupting always good? When practise we say the converse, that a organization or structure has 'withstood the test of time'? Tin yous clear to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is 'non so positive'? Tin can you share some examples of what you hateful?

The LCD industry, like many large industries, tends to take whatever was working last twelvemonth and make it just a niggling bit better. For example, our industry keeps trying to make screens brighter and higher resolution. Just the human being eye tin can only perceive higher resolution up to a certain point, and so why are we spending resources on something that doesn't cease up providing any real value to the user?

I retrieve disruption is a great thing especially in our space and the work we do with light guides. Because of our early on developments outside the display industry, it forced us to think outside the traditional box. People in our industry don't usually piece of work with hockey arenas, and I think that experience allowed us to think more freely and not be bogged down by the way our manufacture has adult LCD innovation in the by.

Plus, most of the innovation in LCD and displays in full general has happened in Asia or on the West Coast. We accept some incredible talent and a history of roll-to-roll and film converting/manufacturing here in the Midwest U.Southward. And then I think when you look at disruption, you likewise have to wait at it from a geographical perspective equally well — it's ofttimes proficient to be innovating in a completely different ecosystem than what the "industry" is in.

Can y'all share iii of the best words of advice you've gotten along your journey? Delight give a story or example for each.

1. Be transparent with your team. This is the most of import piece of advice I've received. Make sure your squad knows what your goals are as a business and how you plan on getting at that place. It'due south important to have this buy-in at all levels so everyone is on the same page. I also retrieve the team should know when something goes incorrect that may throw those plans off-rails. We've had this happen at Azumo, but considering our leadership team was transparent, we were able to move quickly.
2. Find the right experts. Hire the people who know how to practice the work, and let them practise what they were hired to exercise.
3. Push dorsum on your investors. On the coattails of number two, at that place are times where founders can go pressured by investors to make a big name hire (usually from a well-known visitor). I go why it sounds good, merely information technology doesn't always make sense for where your business organisation is. Ofttimes those large name hires are great for the visitor two or iii years downwards the road, simply aren't necessarily what you need today. Luckily, our investors sympathise and back up that dash.

Nosotros are certain y'all aren't done. How are you going to shake things upwardly next?

We're working with some big partners including Sharp and Kyocera on some new products that will include our calorie-free guide technology. We're also planning a new product launch this year to back up larger displays in tablets and other consumer products.

Practice you have a book, podcast, or talk that's had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you lot explicate why it was and so resonant with y'all?

I've got a couple books that I actually like.

1. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. I'm a big fan of learning through others' experiences, and I dear the story of the Wright Brothers. They failed many times just kept at it. People in the U.South. weren't really buying into the idea of an aeroplane, and they ended upwardly having more than success in Europe in the early stages. I experience like Azumo is in a similar position in terms of introducing our applied science to the world.
2. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. It's a fascinating recollection of humankind and into the psyche of how people think, and more than importantly, how we've adapted to work together in groups. Every bit a leader, it gives great examples of where groups have succeeded and failed in the past, which tin give insights to come across trends for tomorrow.
3. The Hard Affair About Hard Things by Ben Horowitcz. This book does a great job of cut through the crap when it comes to building a business. I similar how Ben's advice is very practical and matter of fact. Information technology's full of things I can be doing right now every bit an entrepreneur.

Tin y'all please give us your favorite "Life Lesson Quote"? Tin you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Piece of work Hard, Play Hard. Relationships are so key to building a successful business concern, but it's of import that they are non always about "the business organization." Information technology's been important for me to compartmentalize, have fun, and really get to know the people around me. Whether its friends, loved ones, employees, investors, customers…it doesn't thing who, but we're all people and at the terminate of the day information technology's our relationships and reputations that volition outlive any business. It'south important to put the time in and have a footling fun together too.

You are a person of great influence. If you lot could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the almost amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would encourage people to get outside and play. Play something — information technology could be sports, games, annihilation. Observe something fun that really gets you lot moving. I think this is important not only for physical wellness, only mental likewise. While we're stuck within due to COVID, I recall this is even more than crucial.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can follow me on my LinkedIn.

This was very inspiring. Give thanks you lot so much for joining united states of america!

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Source: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/meet-the-disruptors-mike-casper-of-azumo-on-the-three-things-you-need-to-shake-up-your-industry-4d2c845a7804

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