Last Thurday’s guest speaker in Midwest Entreprenurs class was a familiar face to many students; Monmouth College Political Economy & Commerce faculty member Lee Miller.

Miller spoke to the class about his three-company entrepreneurial career; his career before transitioning into education. This first career was rooted in Miller’s educational background in Mechanical Engineering.

As I sat and listened to this interesting story, I could not help but think of the term “serial entrepreneur,” meaning an entrepreneur that starts up not just one business but rather applies their expertise to multiple innovations which underline the founding and running of multiple companies; with one often sold off to fund the start-up of the next.

Lee Miller’s story of serial entrepreneurship is told below by class blogger Andrew Davis.

Prof. Gabel

________________________________________________________________

The Midwest Entrepreneurs class had the opportunity to listen to the familiar face of professor Lee Miller on Thursday, March 20. Professor Miller shared his successful entrepreneurial and business experiences, as well as important advice for young entrepreneurs.

Miller’s educational background has contributed to much of his success. He has attended nine different universities throughout his college and entrepreneurial career. Miller received his Mechanical Engineering Degree from Ohio State University and obtained his MBA at Western Carolina University. Lee Miller also attended the VCU Masters Program in Engineering.

Lee Miller began his entrepreneurial career as a contract manufacturer in Shelby, North Carolina. There, he designed automobile parts, specifically for drive trains, for large companies throughout the midwest including TRW and Eaton Corporation. Miller experienced success in his work and grew the company to forty employees. In a year long process, he sold the prosperous company to pursue a project with greater potential.

Miller’s second business was located in Richmond, Virginia. As a class project at Virginia Commonwealth University, he designed and manufactured an arthroscopic device used very commonly in health care today. Being an extraordinary innovator, Lee Miller also designed and patented a machine tool to manufacture the small parts for that specific device. With demand for his product increasing significantly, Miller was forced to expand his company. Miller decided to sell the company to a former customer, agreeing to train the new engineers to manufacture the device.

Then, while still in Richmond, he was offered a consulting position that turned into his third and–as of now–final entrepreneurial venture. This company, based on Miller’s design for a superior rotor shim part for automobile braking systems, was a venture-capital backed enterprise in which he held a minority ownership stake. Miller’s main input, beyond the design of the part, was to get the manufacturing operation up and running. Once this task was complete, he left the firm to pursue his Ph.D. Miller still holds his shares of stock in the company, which remains in business today. He informed the class that while the part he designed did in fact have significant advantages over its competitors, the company “never really became the ‘next big thing’.” The reason for this less than hoped for outcome, according to MIller, is that the part was slow to be widely accepted by automobile mechanics (demonstrating to us the importance of always thinking about the implications for all effected persons when introducing a new product or starting a company based on one).

When asked about some of the biggest lesson learned over the course of his three-company entrepreneurial adventure, Miller stressed the importance of hiring the right people. His main point was the necessity of hiring people with positive attitudes. A person with a good attitude can be trained and will contribute to an overall positive work environment. Miller has worked with a variety of people from many different countries throughout his life. He strongly recommends embracing diversity, stressing the importance of different ideas and better solutions in the workplace.

Lee Miller advises new business minds to expand their opportunities and continue their education, two vital responsibilities that will assist in career success.

Andrew Davis