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5 COVER STORY ISSUE TWO kite strings. Using his house and a basketball backboard as platforms, he made sure the camera could pan and tilt with stability across his driveway. He shared the footage with his engineering colleagues, and together, months later, they installed a full-scale version in Villanova’s field house. Dougherty called his new system the Wavecam. Even though the concept worked, Wavecam didn’t become a commercial product overnight. “With our first real prototype installed, we talked with all of the potential stakeholders individually and in focus groups,” he says. “We went beyond Villanova, to meet with various universities, coaches, players, suppliers, advertisers, and broadcasters. We created several demo DVDs and sent them to professional and college sports teams. We also interviewed stadium and television viewers to determine what they liked and disliked about our system and its coverage at Villanova.” “A product has extraordinary value when you see it’s a win for everyone. The customer is happy to have it and pay for it, the salesperson makes money on it – all down the line to the inventor.” Over weeks and then months, Dougherty and his team met face to face with more than 200 coaches and potential advertisers. They visited over 50 universities and communicated with 500 more. Using the feedback they gathered, they refined and then launched the Wavecam. The result is extraordinary value created for each stakeholder. Fans watching from the bleachers, on television, or through online streaming can view incredible action on their screens. Cameramen, universities, coaches, players, and broadcasters have easy access to use the camera or collect video. “Wavecam is making us look like geniuses,” says a coach at University of Alabama’s football program who analyzes the team’s game and practice footage. Advertisers were thrilled because they could display their brands on the Wavecam as a billboard, telling Dougherty, “From my standpoint, you don’t even need the camera – all you need is this flying ad moving back and forth.” At Villanova, Dougherty brings stakeholder engagement to the classroom and insists that his students get outside their comfort zones. Student teams are required to create product prototypes and discuss them with at least 50 people they have never met before. The students talk about the product, its value add, and its marketing and business aspects. “This way, we make sure they don’t get lazy and say, ‘The four people on our team love it; therefore, it’s going to be good,’” Dougherty says. “We make them go out of the bubble and do it. We don’t want them just learning from textbooks, we want them to get out of the classroom and do things with real people.” Dougherty epitomizes the entrepreneurial mindset of allowing his curiosity and passion for “how stuff works” to find expression in creating value for others. He is dedicated to developing this in the next generation of engineers. “I’m proud of my career as an engineer,” he says. “I think it is a good one, but if I had an education in the entrepreneurial mindset as provided today by KEEN schools, I think I could have been not just good, but great. Being a professor in the KEEN program is my second chance. Now I can help build something I know will be great: future KEEN Engineers.” Whether Dougherty is building new and great things or building future engineers, it’s clear that his mindset is what makes him a game changer. “Chances are, potential investors, partners, and customers will need more than your clever pencil sketch on the back of a napkin,” Dougherty observes.