Ted Kraus, MBA '10
Position: Investment Director, AI & Blockchain at Techcode Global
Industry: Incubator, Accelerator and Venture Fund
Lesson Learned: Think Big.
My life is identifying big problems and commercializing disruptive technologies that solve them. I figure out what my audience wants and build something that resonates with them. If they want a red suit, I don’t try to sell them a blue one. If I have an idea, I voice it and see where it takes me.
Recently, I co-founded BUYSTAND, an ECN platform for consumer goods. It matches consumers’ “willingness-to-pay” with retailers’ “willingness-to-sell” in an anonymous buyer-driven marketplace. It functions like an ad-exchange with consumers and retailers instead of advertisers and publishers. Instead of using markdowns to move product, BUYSTAND allows retailers to accept offers at any point on the demand curve that works for them yielding higher margins and faster inventory turn. This also allows brands to maintain their brand equity in a way previously unattainable.
Think big. I mean $billion big, and start with the problem. That is what I learned at LMU. If you have the opportunity to meet Fred Kiesner, do it. He will change your perception on entrepreneurship and life in general. You will need the strongest knowledgebase, so take as many classes from David Choi as possible. Remember that you are in school to learn so keep learning. Make it a habit to read something unrelated to what you are working on every day. It will spark creativity. If you haven’t been to a library or bookstore in a while, go. Put yourself out there and be present in life, and don’t be afraid to fail. That is how we learn.