Elliot McGucken

http://artsentrepreneurship.com http://herosjourneyentrepreneurship.org http://elliotmcgucken.com http://45surf.com http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Heros-Journey-Mythology-Heros-Journey-BusinessArts-Entrepreneurship-MBA/263712680255?ref=ts Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending... He saw the townlands, and learned the minds of many distant men... and weathered many bitter nights and days in his deep heart at sea . . . --Homer's Odyssey The New York Times: McGucken's course (The Hero's Journey in Arts Entrepreneurship & Technology) rests on the principle that those who create art should have the skills to own it, profit from it, and protect it. Business Week: The classics inspired America's Declaration of Independence, which McGucken sees as an entrepreneurial document. Life has a way of "calling us to adventure. . ." The Wall Street Journal: After winning (the Merrill Lynch Innovations Grant Contest for an artificial retina for the blind), he got to tour the New York Stock Exchange. Dr. McGucken caught the entrepreneurial bug. Eventually, he launched an internet company devoted to his longtime passions: writing and classical literature. Jack Bogle: Founder and Former CEO of Vanguard: (Dr. E's) course The Hero's Journey in Artistic Entrepreneurship and Technology is an inspiring tribute to the relevance of classical ideals in our modern lives. --Jack Bogle in his book Enough True Measures of Business, Money, and Life, Wiley 2008 I.D.E.A. to Exit: An Entrepreneurial Journey: Author and Professor Elliot McGucken, Ph.D. describes the entrepreneurial process to his arts students through an analogy to ancient literature. He describes the first stage of the entrepreneur and that of the classic "hero" story as a journey in which the hero, or entrepreneur, "embarks on a quest that requires separation and departure from the familiar world.. . . The entrepreneur moves into the unknown and the unproven. . ." Departure from the familiar is what keeps many from not exploring their entrepreneurial world at all. --Jeffrey Weber: I.D.E.A. to Exit: An Entrepreneurial Journey, p. 3 2010 Webster's Technology Quotations, Facts, and Phrases: Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101 is an open-source course being offered by Dr. Elliot McGucken. The Graphic: Dr. Elliot McGucken organized the (Hero's Journey Entrepreneurship Festival). McGucken teaches a class in artistic entrepreneurship in which Jack Bogle's 2005 book, The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism, is required reading alongside Homer's Odyssey. The theme of a hero's journey, therefore, permeated Bogle's presentation. "Classical precepts are the most useful tools throughout life," McGucken said. "Ideals are a great a long-term investment, because they never change." Bogle reached out to students, urging them to pursue an education and to become a citizen characterized by ethics and ideals. Popular Science: A microchip studded with tiny sensors may give sight to the blind. . . Such a device must be small and have a constant power supply. The solution: a microchip the size of a match head, embedded with photosensors and electrodes that translate light patterns into electrical currents to stimulate the ganglion cells. . . Scientists Wentai Liu and Elliot McGucken are evaluating the microchip in the lab before human testing begins. (the retina technology is now helping people see) The Kauffman Foundation's Thoughtbook: Elliot McGucken has an artful way of teaching entrepreneurship to artists. He explains the entrepreneurial process, for instance, by comparing it to the classic "hero's journey" in myths and epics. Typically, in the first stage of the story, the hero embarks on a quest that requires "separation" or "departure" from the familiar world (here McGucken finds strong parallels to the decision to start a company) -- and after many twists, the journey ends with the hero's "return" (exit strategy). "Every aspect of classical story, including antagonists, mentors, reversals of fortune, and the seizing of the sword from the stone, may be found in the realm of entrepreneurship," McGucken claims. And there's more. The college course he designed -- open to students in any major, working in any of the visual, literary or performing arts -- mixes classical concepts with cutting-edge practical advice, such as how to use open-source DRM (digital rights management) to keep the ogres from snatching your profits. The Chapel Hill Herald: The class is the first of its kind to incorporate art, technology and business. Student Feedback. IT Conversations: Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101: Tired of being a starving artist? Dr. Elliot McGucken's Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101 puts together a new approach to entrepreneurship and the arts through a fascinating application of the classic journey of mythological heroes. McGucken, a physicist, has taught the class at both UNC Chapel Hill and Pepperdine, and has expa