Daniel Renner of Atacama Optics and Electronics & IEEE Photonics Society

Abstract: Photonic startup business success relies heavily on the uniqueness and quality of its technical know-how. Success also depends heavily on a range of skills and activities beyond technical prowess. Business aspects such as marketing, sales, team leadership, commercial opportunity development, proposal preparation, program management, quality control, budgeting, funding and financial planning among others, are crucially important. This presentation will focus on dissecting all the skills and activities required for photonic startup business success. The presenter will attempt to do this through examples drawn from his own experience as a technical and business practitioner in large and small photonic companies

Biography:

Daniel Renner grew up in the southern part of Chile, in South America. He received his Bachelor of Engineering Degree from the Universidad de Chile and then, in his early twenties, he went to the University of Cambridge in England to do a Ph.D. in opto-electronics, a new field of studies at the time. Now, decades later, he has lived through the whole range of experiences that relate to the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of complex photonic devices and systems, used in communication, sensor and industrial applications. In the past 30 years, Daniel has been directly involved with the growth of four photonic start-ups in the United States, Ortel Corporation, Agility Communications, Aerius Photonics and Freedom Photonics. This gives him a unique perspective on the workings of a high-tech small business. Daniel is currently the Chair of the IEEE Photonics Society Industry Engagement Committee, from where he is trying to help other photonic small businesses.