May 2011

See Judy's May 18, 2011 article, co-authored with Joseph Steig of VentureWell, on Xconomy!

In "Innovation as King Is Dead. The Day of the Innovator Has Arrived" Judy addresses the underlying issues challenging science and engineering innovation in the United States, and how these issues are of vast importance for the economy, the nation and ultimately the entire world. Judy recommends a path forward for business leaders, scientists and engineers to work together on "...transforming the Valley of Death into what it truly is: a Time of Brilliance..."!

April 2011

On Thursday, April 21, Judy presented an American Chemical Society (ACS) webinar, "Is being an innovator-entrepreneur your cup of tea?"  Watch the full presentation below, or visit http://acswebinars.org/giordan.

The webinar was hailed as a great success by participants:

• "Dr. Judith was extremely engaging as the speaker.  She had a great deal of enthusiasm that was much appreciated.  As an out-of-work chemist I attended to truly find out if becoming an entrepreneur was my cup of tea and her comments gave me a lot to think about.  Thanks so much for this webinar!"
• "I found all of the speakers very knowledgeable and great communicators."
• "I was blown away by the knowledge of the speaker. Great job, I hope to hear more from her."

The ACS press release for the webinar can be viewed here.

March 2011

Judy and VentureWell were featured in an article in Mass High Tech: The Voice of New England Innovation on March 30, 2011:

In "Entrepreneurs help the next generation learn from their life lessons" author Galen Moore delves into VentureWell's goals to help scientists form successful start-up companies and take their innovations to the next level.  Judy and Joseph Steig, VentureWell's Director, explain some of the key issues that scientists moving into industry need to consider.

Judy counsels that "You need to understand what markets can you get into what price points and how much will they buy." She also advises that people think about their market strategy - "People think about, 'Look at my exit strategy', and, 'Here's my 30-second pitch.' We've sort of trained people to do pitches and that's unfortunate."

Judy on the Business Case for Diversity and Inclusion from Judy Giordan on Vimeo.

Judy discusses her 2007 NSF study on the factors that affect the success of women in the chemical industry. Learn what role mentors play in the success of women, how the confidence levels of women correlate to their success, and the lens through which managers perceive issues brought up by female employees. The bottom line - there is a business case for building diversity and inclusion into any company.

Judy then discusses her life, how she got interested in chemistry, the role her supportive mother played in helping her succeed, and more about some of the mentors that helped shape her career.

Judy on Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Judy Giordan on Vimeo.

Judy discusses some of the challenges she had to overcome throughout her career - from being rejected from graduate schools because she didn't have enough of a chemistry background (despite graduating third in her class), to her experiences as a woman in a traditionally male dominated company.

Judy then goes briefly into her vision of the big issues facing the chemical industry in the future.

Finally, Judy explains her focus on helping university entrepreneurs - both students and faculty - translate their research into innovations that can help the planet and help those who do not have a voice. Judy is a senior advisor to the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) and the Chair of the Advisory Board for the VentureWell program. She is a professor of practice at the University of Southern Mississippi, and serves as an advisor to many start-up companies.