The RuggedCom Story – “A Tale of Canadian Technology Entrepreneurship & Crossing the Chasm”

Abstract:

In 2001 RuggedCom was a fledging startup. A decade later it was bought by Siemens for nearly half a billion dollars. Mr. Pozzuoli, its founder, will discuss its path to success and the role played in that success by the Canadian experience and the strategies outlined in Geoffrey Moore’s iconic book “Crossing the Chasm”.

This seminar will be presented by CryptoWorks21 and be hosted at the Institute for Quantum Computing in QNC 1201, University of Waterloo. Lunch will be provided.

Biography:

Marzio Pozzuoli is the founder and former CEO of RuggedCom; a networking communications company he started in the basement of his home and led to profitability within 18 months following the close of a single $4 million VC round. Under his leadership RuggedCom became the dominant market leader for Smart Grid communications with a greater than 50% market share. The company designed and manufactured virtually all of its products in Canada and sold them globally. The company went public in 2007 and was named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 as one of the fifty fastest growing technology companies in Canada for six consecutive years. The company was acquired by Siemens in 2012 for approximately $440 million giving VC’s and early investors a better than 20x return.

In 2009, Marzio received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in Technology and Communications and was named the 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year by the CVCA. Marzio is currently the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Ryerson University his alma mater.