Every entrepreneur has a first step. For the Missouri S&T Kummer Vanguard Scholars, that comes from hearing directly from innovators who turned ideas into successful businesses. 

S&T students recently heard from three entrepreneurs who shared their stories and some advice. 

Nick Akers: Don’t quit, no matter what

While he was a graduate student in chemistry at Saint Louis University, Nick Akers invented a new type of catalyst that was initially used in fuel cells. With his advisor, Akers founded a company based on that invention.

“My first real job was as a founding CEO, even though I never took a single business class in college,” Akers says. “I had a couple of normal jobs after that experience, but I really wanted to get back to owning a company.”

Today Akers is the president and CEO of Inzo Technologies, a company based in St. Louis that provides IT and cybersecurity services. 

His advice to students? Take the risk and don’t give up.

“It isn’t for everyone, but it is an incredible opportunity for those willing to take the plunge,” Akers says. “Everyone will think you are crazy, tell you that you can’t do it and probably even root for you to fail. But successful entrepreneurs ignore the noise and have an innate ability to not quit, no matter the difficulty.”

Scott Volner: Master the entrepreneur mindset

For alumnus Scott Volner, the path from mining engineer to business owner began with his willingness to try new things. He knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur at a young age.

“I remember sitting in trigonometry class in high school fantasizing about how I could start my own business,” Volner says.

After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in metallurgy and a Ph.D. in geological engineering from S&T, Volner worked in gold and lead mines before joining the U.S. Bureau of Mines in Rolla.

He then began his entrepreneurial endeavors. His first start-up didn’t work out, but he started Catalytic Innovations, now part of Moxba, 15 years ago — and he’s the owner. His company specializes in micronutrient manufacturing, oil refinery catalyst recycling and alkaline battery recycling.

His advice: it’s not easy, but it’s worth the hard work.

“I used to teach classes and what frustrated me was how everybody wanted to do as little as possible to get out,” Volner says. “If you’re an entrepreneur, you need to be a jack of all trades.”

While being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone, it’s still good to develop the mindset, Volner says. 

“Having that mindset makes you a priceless employee, because an employer who is willing to take the risk needs people who can make good, entrepreneurial decisions,” Volner says. “Employers don’t want to hire a robot.”

Dan Nobbe: Believe in your vision

Dan Nobbe, an alumnus who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from S&T in 1989, has helped grow multiple companies, with products and services ranging from semiconductors for cell phones to satellite imaging and compact radar systems for drones.

One of his first startups was called Peregrine Semiconductor, which created technology for cell phones.

“If we hadn’t done what we did, a cell phone wouldn’t be as small as it is today and have the high speed data that it does today,” Nobbe says.

He then helped start Skeyeon, a company that builds micro-satellites for low orbits. He is currently the vice president of radio frequency and radar systems at MatrixSpace, a software company for AI-powered radar and drone detection.

“There’s a belief system that exists in all three startups that I’m associated with,” Nobbe says. “The system is this: you’re creating something new that has value. You know you’re onto something, but you have to stay the course through the ups and downs along the way.”

Nobbe says if you lose that belief, you can’t achieve your goals.

“It takes a lot of energy, a lot of hours and it takes that kind of undying dedication,” he says. “You have to take a risk but you’ll regret it if you don’t take that chance.”