Student to Chronic Entrepreneur: A Few Words from the High Tech Entrepreneurial Trenches

On her ninth high-tech startup, Nancy Benovich Gilby shares thoughts on what she learned in the trenches, from school sketching crazy ideas on paper, to successful launches -- and exits.

The talk is part of the Google Lecture Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship sponsored by Google, UMSI, and the SI CREATE student group.

Gilby is the chief technical officer and co-founder of VP Products at A2O Mobile. She was previously VP of engineering for Asurion (AMA Mobile Applications Division). She holds an MSE and BSE from the University of Michigan in computer engineering.

Gilby’s product development methodology has generated three case studies at the Harvard Business School. Her leadership in product strategy and development contributed to Firefly, the first online web community site, a spin out of the MIT Media Laboratory, purchased by Microsoft; Wildfire, first voice-based personal, mobile, voice-based assistant, purchased by Orange; Component Software, as co-founder, folded into Sun to become what is Java today; and On Technology, developers of the first group scheduling application, Meeting Maker, as well as a successful public company, later purchased by Symantec. She has been a featured speaker at MIT Sloan School’s entrepreneurial conference and regularly contributes to the “University of Michigan Bay Area Entrepreneurship Trip.”

The Google Lecture Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship events are free and open to the public.