CEO encourages engineers

Engineering students dreaming of starting their own business packed Heilmeier Hall yesterday to hear about the end of the so-called "Internet bubble" -- the astonishingly high stock prices of Internet companies of the past few years. Pete Musser, the CEO of Safeguard Scientifics, spoke to several hundred students and faculty about the changing role of the Internet in investing. "It's here to stay," Musser said of the Internet. "And it will influence how everybody does business." Musser's speech was the keynote address and kick-off event for National Engineers Week, which is being celebrated at the School of Engineering and Applied Science and throughout the country this week. Musser was accompanied by Michael Bolton, senior vice president of Safeguard, who spoke about the typical technology company in which Safeguard invests. According to Bolton, having a strong technological background is the most important predictor of success in starting a business. "Engineering talent is being rewarded," Bolton said. Bolton said that one of the most important characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is what he called a "fire in the belly," or a passion to persevere. Some other important traits are flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing technology. Many students who attended the event said they came because they plan to start a business in the future. But others said they came just to hear about how the Internet will continue to play a role in business in the future. "[Musser and Bolton] gave a good basic overview of how Penn entrepreneurs should be thinking about creating their businesses," said Katherine Wu, a teaching assistant for the Engineering Entrepreneurship class. "I had heard a lot about Safeguard, and I basically wanted to come hear them talk about the Internet and where it's going," Wu added. Musser estimated that technology businesses will have another two to three years to "ride the Internet bubble," or the inflated stock prices of Internet companies. These prices began plummeting in the latter half of last year. Musser blamed the economically "dismal" end of 2000 on too many Internet companies going public. Still, Bolton said he was hopeful about the future of telecommunications, biotechnology and optoelectronics industries. Yesterday's event was jointly sponsored by the Engineering Student Activities Council and the Technology Entrepreneurship Club, which have brought several guest speakers to Penn. "We want to create an educational environment to foster the concepts of entrepreneurship on campus," said Entrepreneurship Club President Maziyar Sharafi, who also plans on starting a business in the next 10 years.