Vivek Kopparthi
NeoLight
Phoenix, AZ USA
"Focus. There are several things you can do with your life, but don’t get derailed looking at all the shiny objects. Focus on what you want to do and go execute it."
Career Roadmap
Vivek's work combines: Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician
Anna University
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
Arizona State University
Doctorate
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Chief Executives:
Bachelor's Degree: Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician
Certification: Banking, Corporate, Finance, and Securities Law
Graduate Degree: Business Administration and Management, General
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I was raised by a middle-class family in India; our life revolved around our business making money.
2.
I was a curious kid, and I’d sometimes offer my parents suggestions for how to make more money.
3.
After completing an engineering degree in India, I decided to move to the U.S. for grad school.
4.
I chose ASU for its highly ranked supply chain management program—what I thought I wanted to do.
5.
While at ASU, my roommate had the idea to build a better treatment for jaundiced infants.
6.
We pitched our idea to an ASU entrepreneurship program; they gave us the seed funding for NeoLight.
7.
We developed a successful treatment for jaundice and are now working on a treatment for hypothermia.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Peers:
Why aren’t you working for a big company, making a six-figure salary like the rest of your classmates?
How I responded:
On the surface, the toughest phase for any entrepreneur are the early stages. After we started NeoLight, I had no salary for 18 months. I watched all the people I graduated with go get high-paying jobs and have fun, while I was working nonstop, taking the first bus to work in the morning and the last bus home at night. But that was also the time we enjoyed our work the most: when you’re all-in, you see your coworkers’ true characters, and you see the creative juices come out of everyone in full.