Need to turn raw technologies into products that change the world? It's what I do!
Need to make your tech start-up a Silicon Valley success? I can help you make it so!
Advisor to start-ups, and coach/consultant to entrepreneurs and business owners.
Start-up executive and co-founder: I lead teams that do the seemingly impossible: inventing innovative technologies, creating award winning products and services, and pioneering new markets.
Co-inventor of Web Conferencing, specifically CONCEPTION and DEFINITION of the widely praised USER EXPERIENCE for the "Placeware Web Conferencing Center" (today "Microsoft Live Meeting").
An Internet & mobile entrepreneur, technical executive, business coach and innovation consultant with over 2+ decades of experience.
Led Product Strategy, Engineering, User experience and Innovation teams at numerous angel and venture funded MOBILE, INTERNET and SOFTWARE START-UPS in SILICON VALLEY.
Technical leadership roles at market leaders including HP, SYBASE and INTUIT.
Speaker on Innovation, Start-ups and Product Design. Educator. Past president and cofounder of the Silicon Valley chapter of the Assn. for Software Design, and Worldwide Institute of Software Architects. Career focus has been on the conception and development of DISRUPTIVE INNOVATIONS.
Invented Products praised for their INTUITIVE INTERFACES, EASE OF LEARNING and EASE OF USE. Codified techniques used to design such compelling user experiences in a design method known as the "SWIFT New Product Innovation Method", taught at several nationally known MBA programs, companies, and professional organizations.
see http://www.smcgregor.com/ for more details.
Regional Director, North America @ I help technology start-ups relocate to Silicon Valley, connect to capital and grow their business.
I help foreign companies enter US markets and connect with US business partners.
I help US technology companies looking to develop overseas markets or develop business partnerships in Europe and Asia. From July 2014 to Present (1 year 6 months) San Francisco Bay AreaStart-up Advisor, Coach & Sr. Exec Team member for High Tech Start-ups @ Do you need to add senior experience to your high tech start-up?
Do you need to increase monetization of your technology business?
I take part time and interim executive and advisory roles, and provide coaching & consulting to high tech start-ups.
Innovative C-level Exec with 25 years experience leading new product mgmt, strategy & development, in 12 start-ups, as well as 3 established leaders: Hewlett-Packard, Sybase & Intuit.
Created vision & managed over 20 new products, from conception to launch, in diverse application areas.
Designed products generating exponential sales growth; Within 2 years, transformed Xerox PARC SDK into the PlaceWare Web Conferencing Center (now Microsoft Live Meeting™), increasing sales from $500K to $10M, & establishing a new market category, market leadership, facilitating IPO.
Provided organization-wide leadership & direction for multiple teams, departments as large as 50, geographically distributed departments, & offshore teams.
Effective presenting to lay audiences up to 2000. Developed stage & booth presentations for DEMO 2004.
Designed innovative new products, filed patents. From 1994 to Present (21 years) Managing Director: EIR, Advisor, Consultant and Coach to start-ups @ As a co-inventor of Web Conferencing I improved the lives of a billion people. My 3D scanner, photo editor, streaming video and predictive analytics apps are also changing many lives. I'm not done yet! I want to enable other entrepreneurs to make equally dramatic improvements to our lives and to the world.
As an advisor, consultant, coach and educator, I am helping entrepreneurs and start-ups build their businesses and improve their ability to raise early stage funding. From June 2013 to Present (2 years 7 months) Founder @ SoundFit has made an innovative new 3D Scanner. Our first market is a clinical scanner for audiologists. Co-invented a new 3D scanning technology that will reduce custom fit earpiece manufacturing costs by an order of magnitude, increase convenience to consumers dramatically and typical turnaround time from a week to next day delivery. Recruited talent to complete development and for manufacturing. Developed strategies to bring product to market, raised investment capital, and built key strategic partnerships. From February 2011 to Present (4 years 11 months) Founder @ Enrolled in 2014 Spring session in Silicon Valley chapter. Entrepreneurs are never done perfecting their skills From April 2014 to July 2014 (4 months) CTO @ Zimron is a web and mobile site that empowers teens and college students to discover who they are and to make life decisions like which college to attend, major to select, and career path to follow. I am leading design and development of the service and technologies used to field it, including predictive analytics, web and mobile applications, and more. From August 2013 to January 2014 (6 months) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CTO and Founder @ Founded mobile commerce company. Invented new mobile payment and advertising app. Developed initial product specifications and innovative business model. Recruited co-founders. Developed investor materials. From November 2010 to 2012 (2 years) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) @ Invented a patent pending Personal Shopping Assistant technology for selecting personalized web ads, based on user's Private Shopping Lists yielding XooXooX Web ads YOU Control. Service protects user's private data in ways competitors can't. Wrote patent applications, created engineering specifications. Developed business plan, elevator pitch, funding pitch, investor summaries, website & financial models. Recruited co-founders, developers and advisors. Developed viral marketing strategy build on social networking and leveraging charities donor networks. Developed web applications and services in JavaScript, PHP, and Flash. From March 2008 to October 2010 (2 years 8 months) Chief Operating Officer @ Recruited Mktg team, introduced promotions, created Customer Advisory Board & evangelism networks that increased positive word of mouth coverage of the company's products in the blogosphere -- doubling monthly sales in first 3 months in this role. Developing international distribution and strategic partnerships.
Redesigned website to clearly convey our value proposition in dramatic, visual before & after fashion, demonstrating remarkable improvements in photo quality with just a click.
Designed new "one-click" style rollovers -- true WYSIWIG.
Recruited team of exceptional engineers with rare specialized image processing algorithm development experience, yielding a sustainable competitive advantage.
Led design of disruptively innovative consumer digital photography product line and internet services including architecture, positioning, product marketing and introduction plans. From 2007 to 2008 (1 year) Faculty Practitioner @ University of Phoenix Online
Faculty Practitioner, Technical MBA program classes including Management of Innovation and R&D. From 2000 to 2007 (7 years) Sr Engineering Manager @ Consumer Tax Division (TurboTax, SnapTax, ProSeries) San Diego, CA
Led new team creating new Runtime platform and Tools for Tax Developers, expected to greatly increase productivity of tax developers authoring TurboTax, SnapTax and other tax products.
Inspired radical improvements in usability and accuracy for both developers and end users. Investigated leading edge technologies that might be suitable for use in future product, such as automated derivation of English text explanations from tax rules.
Introduced and brought prior experience with Lean Agile Slice and Extreme Programming Methods to team, dramatically reducing release times.
Developed innovative Tax Insurance strategies, working directly for company founder. From 2004 to 2005 (1 year) VP Product Management @ Mobile Networking Internet Service
Co-founded company, developed business plans, product plans and product designs.
Recruited key executives: including VP of Sales/Business Development and VP of Engineering.
Developed Innovative Service Business Model aimed at Small to Medium size businesses
Led company name selection, Corporate ID, and positioning efforts; developed marketing materials.
Developed initial product plans, led development of demo (debuted at Mobile Showcase 2004). From 2004 to 2004 (less than a year) Product Marketing & Product Strategy Executive @ Mobile Document Compliance Management
Developed product demonstration, accompanying video and stage script for debut of product at DEMO 2004.
Developed recommendations for next generation product designs and implemented the SWIFT design process.
Researched target industry (Pharmaceuticals) and developed bottoms up forecasts of the Total Available Market. From 2004 to 2004 (less than a year) Founder, CEO @ Network Security
ImmuNet was a network security start-up with a "network effect twist".
Founded company, developed business plans, product plans and product designs, sought funding.
Wrote and filed for patents on new products.
Recruited executive team, plus world class board of directors and advisors.
Identified firm in a related space and developed a joint venture/ merger-acquisition plan.
Transitioned firm to new management. From 2003 to 2004 (1 year) Vice President Product Development @ Vice President Product Development Streaming Video Applications
Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer.
Managed engineering teams, product marketing, and program management.
Developed business and product plans, pricing, collateral and presentations
Designed an innovative mobile video field collaboration product that can work over cellular bandwidth. From 2002 to 2003 (1 year) Vice President, Engineering & Product Strategy @ Vice President Product Development Business Analytics for Non-Statisticians
Created custom solutions for generating personalized special offers for Columbia House Record and DVD clubs. Identified personal purchase patterns, generated personalized product and discount offers to achieve maximum response in each monthly mailing.
Created custom solutions to identify best and least desirable customers and selected personalized special offers to retain best customers,
Grew team from 4 to 15 engineers (including many Sr. Algorithm developers from Stanford and LNLL) in less than six months and completed development of first product on schedule in twelve months.
Developed business and product plans, pricing, collateral and presentations, and supported strategic partnerships. From 2000 to 2002 (2 years) Faculty Instructor @ Faculty Instructor, Technical and Management classes. R&D Project Management, Design for Usability, New Product Development and Product Marketing. From 1992 to 2002 (10 years) Sr. Product Manager / Program Manager / Product Strategist / Product Designer @ Working directly with the CEO, led design of the company's Conference Center now Microsoft Live Office.
Ensured a satisfying whole product experience for all stakeholders in customer organizations.
Participated on staffs of Engineering, Marketing and Sales; developed customer profiles and scenarios of use, sales and marketing presentations, marketing collateral, specifications for new product features and user interface requirements.
Developed a strategy for a new sales channel, involving partnerships with telecom companies
Changed sales model from standalone perpetual product sales to annual hosting service.
Divided original generic product into 2 targeted products that had faster start-up, quicker learning time, and were more targeted to specific tasks performed.
Designed enhancement that cut initial slide load time over a 28.8 modem from 7 minutes to 4 seconds.
Developed key marketing, product and business sections for S1 and IPO road show presentations. From 1998 to 2000 (2 years) Sr. Project Manager /Designer /Art Director @ Sr. Project Manager /Designer /Art Director Sales Training & Presentation Applications
Recruited talented software engineers to the company.
Project managed the first customer release, tracking new development tasks and bug fixes, developing specifications documents, etc. Led the Quality Assurance team. Led redesign of the company's product.
Managed the Creative Services Team, which developed the graphics and textual material that is used in the product, as well as created methodology based content.
Led development of the first content title, Life Cycle Selling, based upon Geoffrey Moore's books: Crossing the Chasm, and Inside the Tornado, and Rick Brown's seminars: Life Cycle Sales. From 1997 to 1998 (1 year) Sr. R&D Project Manager @ Sr. R&D Project Manager Artificial Intelligence support for Presentations and Sales Assistance
Recruited a team, designed and developed a speech recognition powered Web based Briefing Associate system for DARPA for in person and remote, live and delayed, multimedia crisis action briefings.
Developed a Sales Associate that acts as an unattended sales assistant for Web based Sales transactions.
Initial system included an on-line wine retail system with a database of over 750 selections that advised customers on selections based upon meal preferences. From 1995 to 1997 (2 years) Director, Engineering Services @ Director, Engineering Services Standardizing Engineering Processes across the company
Directed the newly formed 30+ member team with $3M+ annual budget.
Responsible for centrally managing engineering tools, training, help desk, process consulting, interoperability and compatibility testing, and product release management functions across multiple divisions. From 1994 to 1995 (1 year) Founder and Chairman @ Founder and CEO Software Configuration Management Tools
I founded this company as a spin out from Atherton Technologies in 1992. The company manufactures and sells one product, MergeRight, a tool used to compare and merge multiple versions of a file. Most of our sales are technology licenses to vendors of Version Control and Software Configuration Management products, such as Lucent.
Secured re-sellers, recruited executives and engineering staff, negotiated contracts, developed business plans and participated in raising investment capital. Provided customer support services.
In addition to software sales and manufacturing, Prescient Software is the parent company for the SWIFT Design Group. This consulting group, offers product design, product design education, and management consulting services, especially for software products. Clients include: Tandem, Real Communities and SocialNet. From 1992 to 1994 (2 years) General Manager, Ahead Software Division @ General Manager, Ahead Software Division CASE, Object Oriented Database Repository
Managed the creation of a new applications division; spun out to create Prescient Software.
Reported directly to board of directors. Responsibilities included profit and loss. $1M annual budget.
Developed key product in one quarter using SWIFT method. From 1990 to 1992 (2 years) R&D Project Manager / Productivity Manager @ R&D Project Manager, Information Systems Division CASE applications.
Managed 14 engineers developing Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) applications, with a $1.5M budget.
Developed Prescient Agents, receiving technical and press recognition.
Productivity Manager, Corporate Computing Center Palo Alto, CA Wide Area Network Applications
Led several interdisciplinary and interdivisional technical teams, developing a high performance computer environment, including supercomputers, linked by a high-speed worldwide network, the HP Internet. From 1980 to 1990 (10 years) Author/Playwright, Kije! @ I wrote the book for the musical comedy, Kije!, recruited a lyricist and a composer. The play was submitted to an annual competition for new musicals at Carnegie Mellon University, where it won and was produced in 1980. From September 1979 to May 1980 (9 months) Software Applications Consultant @ Created forecasting models including divisional roll-ups for Corporate Economist. Developed pricing model for Lighting Products Division. From 1979 to 1979 (less than a year) Founder, President @ Founded and operated a graphic design and printing organization that supported graphic needs of Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges. Sold company for a profit. From September 1976 to May 1978 (1 year 9 months) Software Applications Consultant @ Evaluated and documented Government Guarranteed Student Loan Program system, identifying and correcting many errors that had not been discovered in 5 years of operation.
Created many tools to assist structural analysis, and support software component reuse in the future. From 1978 to 1978 (less than a year) Systems Manager, Application Development Manager, Customer Relations Manager @ Second in command to founder, managed computer systems, wrote accounting (FASB13) and small business software packages, managed customer contact. From 1977 to 1978 (1 year) Software Developer @ Developed Hourly Payroll system for Corporate office.
Developed travel, course registration and educational tracking and management systems supporting corporate wide continuing education programs held several times per year at multiple locations around the US, and with differing courses offered. System identified courses needed by each professional to maintain their certification, generated mail notifying professionals of upcoming meetings offering training required for their certification. Provided remote registration & tracking. Generate droom reservations pairing professionals in shared housing based on gender, smoking preferences, etc. System generated dining assignments and study group team assignments to ensure corporate goals of creating more relationships between professionals in different offices. System sent out confirmations and assignments. System tracked attendance and updated records of completed courses. From 1975 to 1976 (1 year)
Non degree graduate courses, Computer Science, VLSI Design @ Stanford University From 1982 to 1986 MSIA (MBA), Graduate Business @ Carnegie Mellon University From 1978 to 1980 BA, Philosophy (Logic and Language) @ Haverford College From 1974 to 1980 MSIA (MBA), Management Science, Information Systems, Entrepreneurship, Business Law @ Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business From 1978 to 1980 transferred., Chemistry, Physics, Math @ ACS Lincoln High School From 1969 to 1972 Scott McGregor is skilled in: Product Design, Software Development, Start-ups, Product Marketing, Team Building, Strategic Partnerships, Entrepreneurship, Mobile Devices, Product Management, Usability, SaaS, User Experience, Business Development, Business Intelligence, Quality Assurance
Websites:
http://www.smcgregor.com/,
http://www.smcgregor.com/blog/,
http://www.swiftdesigngroup.com