S1E10 – Craig Markovitz

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Craig Markovitz might not be able to predict the future, but his history with startups makes him a great mentor for aspiring entrepreneurs. Markovitz shares with us his commercialization journey with Blue Belt Technologies, a hand held robot for orthopedic surgeons for hip and knee replacements. During his tenure with Blue Belt Technologies, Markovitz recognized some patterns found in startup environments. He shares these lessons learned along with tips and tricks mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs as an Entrepreneur in Residence in the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and a Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

Tune in to Crazy Hard Robots as Craig Markovitz, entrepreneur and professor, chats with Tom about some guiding principles for creating a successful startup. For additional tips and tricks from Markovitz you can subscribe to his newsletter at: startupbreakdown.com

Listen to Craig and Tom talk about
  • What it was like to grow and develop a robotics business.
  • The three key Ts to keep in mind to commercialize your business.
  • The CPS hypothesis.
  • The future of robots entering and working with people.
About Craig Markovitz

Craig S. Markovitz is an Entrepreneur in Residence in the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and a Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.  He is also the inaugural Prosser Mellon Fellow at the RK Mellon Foundation as well as a Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Specialist with the law firm of Troutman Pepper.

 

Markovitz is co-founder of Blue Belt Technologies, Inc., a spinoff from the Robotics Institute at CMU and served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer for over 7 years.  In this capacity, he launched the company, raised capital, managed operations, and led a January 2011 merger with HealthpointCapital.  He then transitioned to Chief Operating Officer and helped to lead substantial growth of the company from pre revenue and 18 employees to multi-million in revenue and 150 employees.  Craig was a key member of the deal team that led to an acquisition by Smith and Nephew, plc in January 2016 for $275,000,000.

In addition, Markovitz was Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Spotlight Medical, Inc.  Spotlight was a spinoff company based on technology developed jointly by Carnegie Mellon University and The University of Pittsburgh.  He managed this company to a successful exit as well.  Prior to founding Blue Belt and Spotlight, Craig worked with The Redleaf Group, Inc., a $285 million early-stage venture capital fund, as the Chief Operating Officer of PenNetWorks, LLC at the University of Pennsylvania.

He was the recipient of the 2019 Junior Achievement of Western PA Spirit of Enterprise Award for Entrepreneurial Achievement, the 2016 Carnegie Science Center Entrepreneur and the 2016 Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association Outstanding Entrepreneur Awards.

Markovitz graduated with distinction from the MBA program at the Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University in Chicago with a degree in Entrepreneurship, and graduated cum laude from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, PA, with a BA in Management.  He lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife and 3 children.

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