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| Pavlo Rudenko |
PULLMAN, Wash. – When an employer hires you for a job, he or she simply is buying your skills at bulk rate and re-selling your work for a profit.
“You are part of the generated profit,’’ said Pavlo Rudenko, a materials science graduate student who is involved in Washington State University entrepreneurship efforts. “So, if you are able to do any simple job, you can actually work for yourself and pocket the difference.’’
Rudenko wants to help people, especially students, realize their entrepreneurial potential. He has been involved in promoting the Invention to Venture workshop scheduled 1-8 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at Banyan’s Restaurant at the Palouse Ridge Golf Club. See earlier article and video here.
The workshop, sponsored by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, will teach participants to turn an idea into a new business by connecting with mentors, coaches, advisors and resources. Topics will include idea generation and validation, product development, marketing and promotion, and laws and information about intellectual property.
Launching business from research
Rudenko’s interest in entrepreneurship started early with a technical book business at age 15. Originally from the Ukraine, he came to the U.S. for school.
As a graduate student, he is developing a business based on his lubricants research. In particular, he is using nanotechnology to develop more efficient and environmentally friendly lubricant additives.
Last year, he was one of 80 students nationwide selected to participate in Singularity University, a privately funded university that offers a 10-week summer program for graduate students. It brings together specialists in academia, business and government to harness technology to address critical global challenges.
Success for everyone
There, Rudenko met successful entrepreneurs and learned that they’re not that different from the rest of us.
“They’re not gods,’’ he said. “They’re just slightly more skilled than others.’’
Along the way, he said, they simply gained the specific knowledge needed to succeed – how to make big projects a reality. Through the Invention to Venture workshop and additional WSU entrepreneurship efforts, Rudenko would like to help students gain that knowledge in a step-by-step fashion.
“I would like to share those ‘ah-ha’ moments that I got with others,’’ he said. “I want everyone to be mega-successful.’’
Graduate work = start-up mode
Graduate students, in particular, often think their career choices are to work in academia or industry. Rudenko wants them to think about the third option of creating their own business.
Graduate students often generate ideas, describe ideas in proposals, defend their projects and work for several years on a project, delivering results and following a budget.
“It’s a start-up mode already,’’ he said. “They don’t have to just walk away from their projects and say, ‘look how great.’ They can make them even greater.’’
Starting out with a good education is the first step in future success, he said: “This is the gravel road to your future that you have to pave for yourself.’’
For more information about the workshop and a list of speakers, go here.