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Career – a DIY approach NUS SoC Industry Seminar Jan 2013

Career – a DIY approach NUS SoC Industry Seminar Jan 2013. Pete Kellock. Outline. My career ...especially muvee Life as an entrepreneurial journey ...some thoughts on work, jobs & happiness. How I’ve spent the last 58 years. Where to go on holiday (best in May). Age 2 wks – 10 yrs.

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Career – a DIY approach NUS SoC Industry Seminar Jan 2013

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  1. Career – a DIY approachNUS SoC Industry SeminarJan 2013 Pete Kellock

  2. Outline • My career ...especially muvee • Life as an entrepreneurial journey ...some thoughts on work, jobs & happiness

  3. How I’ve spent the last 58 years...

  4. Where to go on holiday (best in May) Age 2 wks – 10 yrs Age 10 – 17 Age 20 – 28 (MA +PhD) Age 17 – 20 (BSc) Age 0 – 2 wks Age 34 – now Singapore Age 28 – 34 (Engineer, CTO) Student working holidays... Age 20: 3 months in USA Age 22/23: 2 x 3 months in France

  5. Early Dreams

  6. Patents

  7. Music Composition

  8. Travel

  9. University • BSc, Physics / Maths ...and Computer Science, Music, Geology • MA (Hons), Music ...and International Relations Paying my way: • research assistant • freelance horn player • PhD in Electronic Music: • Science / Technology • Music Composition

  10. PhD Years Solaris • PhD in electronic music “Animation and Real-Time Control Techniques in Electronic Music: Theory, Development and Application in Two Tape Compositions”

  11. Glissboard

  12. Steel Breeze

  13. Earning a Living... ;------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ; PRR State 1. ; ; Only comes here if perf > stub. Monitors existing perf, waiting for an ; event to start recording on scratch perf. ;------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ; * Handle live events (eg start/stop) pr1 ld ix,prfpst ; Perf PST call getibev ; Get input event if any jr c,$20 ; Jump if no events ; ex de,hl ; Input event pointer to de ld hl,pr1tabj ; pr1 router table for jumps call hev_b1j ; Handle event (bank 1 jumps) ; call srecev? ; Should event cause recording to start? jr z,pr1_pr2 ; Jump if so ; * Handle performance events $20 call prun ; Performance runner call getpbev ; Get perf buffer event if any jr c,$40 ; Jump if none ; call prfcky ; Perf Ckey event handler (On/Off) call nz,hevdef ; If not Ckey event, use default event handler ; * Run all active procs + perf & handle bar/beat display $40 call run_m ; Call runner call chkbt ; If beat trans, update bar/beat & % memory jr pr1

  14. Zyklus

  15. Zyklus Band

  16. 1989: came to Singapore 1989 to 1999 • NUS - ISS: Designing/managing/teaching short courses • KRDL: Research in digital media • Algorithmic music and sound: Rhythm Morpher, FlexEffex, etc • Video – MPEG7 etc

  17. muvee Unique software for Automatic Video Production • finished productions from raw video (or photos) in minutes or seconds … skills of a video pro in software • for everyone – kids to grannies • for almost anything: family events, kids, holidays, sports… (and pros use it too) • in hundreds of styles

  18. Video: Intro to muvee

  19. Example muvees  - Drainspotting  - S Am:  - First 2 mins. Pictures with Ken Burns. Note slow dissolves then white flashes     - Then 10'44": tango.

  20. How muvee works Video Data Video Analyzer Video Description Raw Video Constructor (Makes Edit Decisions) Edit Decision List Renderer (Performs Editing on the video/audio data) Finished muvee: a high-quality auto-edited video production Music Styles Music Analyzer Music Description Music Data User Selects

  21. muvee: some Highlights • Started in KRDL (now I2R) lab • End 1999: core idea • 2000: prototypes & patents • Goal: is it possible? …and good enough? ...and if so, get patent protection • Early 2001: taking it out to the world: US. Japan, Europe • Straight to major markets: US, Japan, Europe • Goal: is it *really* valuable enough to form a business? • Worry: is someone already doing it? • Aug/Sep 2001: forming company & launching product • First online sales + First OEM deal • 2001/2002: Raising venture capital • Closed Series A in Aug 2002 • Late 2002: move to our own office • Goal: grow fast! (customers – revenue – mindshare – team)

  22. …cont: muvee highlights • 2004: first mobile phone version (Nokia) • Profitable in 2004 (3rd year) • Series B • 2005: first in-camera version (Nikon) • 2006: > S$13m revenue. Online version: muveeMix • 2007: Online sharing: Shwup • 2008: muvee Reveal • 2009: Embedding into LG phones • 2011: Mac version ...and lots more

  23. Founding Team Team from lab formed core of mgmt. Spinoff team: • Pete Kellock • Terence Swee • Sarat Venugopal • Phil Morgan • + 4 others (engineers)

  24. muvee autoProducer

  25. muveetoday • ~50 people: in SG. Korea, Japan, US • Products for PC, Mac, smartphones, cameras, online, etc

  26. muvee - Achievements Hasn’t made the founders or investors rich (yet?) but... • Pioneered a totally new types of SW: automatic video production • Numbers 100s of millions shipped, millions of users • Delighted customers • Headline publicity • Substantial global mindshare, eg: • > 3m hits for muvee on Google • eg 60k hits for “muvee” on YouTube • > $S50 revenue • > 500 man-years of employment • Excellent adventure • Huge learning experience • Strong & lasting friendships

  27. My Role in muvee • Lead inventor • Core idea (2 of us) • Patents • Head of R&D team: 2000-2001 • Research directions • Product definition • Some architecting & coding • CEO: 2001 – 2006 • Setting direction, recruitment, leading team, marketing, product definition & aesthetics, business development, deal-making, financial control, cash-raising, corporate governance ...and lots more • “muveeMeister”/CXO: 2007-2010 (part time) • Left muvee in Sept 2010.

  28. How I’m spending my time at the moment... External: • NUS Advisor / Mentor • Advisor to an incubator and a startup • Advisor/Assessor for National Arts Council • Board Member, Singapore Land Authority • “Startup catalyzer” Personal Projects • Writing music • Personal investment (equity analysis, etc) • Travel • Ideas for software products / startups

  29. Life as an entrepreneurial journey

  30. Your choices are wider than you think • Not just control of what job, but far more, including • What goals to seek in life • What principles to apply (eg Bret Victor: “Inventing on Principle”, etc...) • In the broad sweep of history (hundreds or thousands of years), we live in amazing times • A large part of humanity (including all in this room) have huge control over their own lives. In the past – and still for billions of people – this degree of choice is an impossible dream • So choose well! Don’t do stuff “by default”. • How to choose? • Keep thinking: pop a level or two at least every few days • Keep doing: navel-gazing doesn’t work

  31. What makes an Entrepreneur? • Businesspeople enter a commercial game and aim to win • Entrepreneurs try to redefine the game ...or create a whole new game ...even if the risks are far higher

  32. So why not do this with the game of life? Your life doesn’t have to be about winning a game created by someone else. You can (at least to a degree) DECIDE THE LIFE-GAME YOU WANT TO PLAY In other words, design your own life.

  33. Career: how I’ve approached it • Always a bit “anti-career” • ...especially in big organizations • Mostly just followed whatever I found fun / interesting / cool at the time • But tried not to switch too often: you need to stick at most things for years to achieve anything at all. Got to grit your teeth sometimes • (I’ve also tried to understand how my interests fluctuate, but without much luck.) • For me, work and job are totally different things • Many times what I’ve been paid for is not the work I cared most about. • Money not v important: things I enjoy most don’t cost much • ...and I usually find the status trap easy to resist • Periods of v. high work intensity • Some long breaks and extended phases without pay

  34. My life – success? • Not as it’s defined by many people! • Money? • Not wealthy, but enough to do what I like from now on • Fame/recognition? • Ding in the Universe? • Happiness / fulfillment? • Still loving the journey • Still finding new adventures • Still lots I want to do • Strong curiousity & passion

  35. What’s important to you in your work? • Money? • Status: impressing family / friends / others ? • Proving you have what it takes? • Respect? • Adventure? • Freedom to do what you like, as you like, when you like? • “Growth? / Self-discovery / “Self-actualization”? • Contribution to the world? • Others?

  36. Here’s a thought... Is winning for LOSERS?

  37. And if you do win - what happens next?

  38. If your primary goal is to win, chances are ...you will fight your way up ...till you reach a level where you cannot go any higher ...and get stuck there. Even if you reach the pinnacle, will you feel happy and fulfilled?

  39. Design your own life – how? That’s up to you, but here are some ideas... Instead of aiming to win a pre-existing career game, you can... • Aim to discover and develop your own new games • Commit yourself to innovating in everything you do – make it a habit • Copy only rarely (eg to learn) • Aim to contribute to the world around you • Aim to support and “grow” the people interact with • Try to find at least one speciality that isn’t transient • Without this, software devp (and many other ICT careers) are hard – constant reboots!

  40. ...cont: Designing your own life • Put your heart into whatever you do • Work till you drop - sometimes • Dig deep: select a few things and pursue them all the way ...even (especially!) when people think you’re crazy • But keep a sense of humor Laugh at yourself, your goals, your achievements, your failures. • Aim to enjoy the journey ... and to make it fun & fulfilling for your fellow-travelers

  41. A few final thoughts Fun v. Achievement? What balance is right for you? For some of us, FULLFILMENT requires ACHIEVEMENT So designing your own life often needsmoreself-discipline than following a standard path in life

  42. Work-life: my model FUTURE Achieving long-term goals “Sense of Purpose” Expect to spend some time here: worthwhile achievements always involve some slog. Go all-out during those times. But don’t live here all the time. If you always live in the future, you may never live at all. +ve A great place to be, but don’t expect to spend all your time here. Slogging Building towards some long-term / career goals, but the day to day work is tough or boring In the Zone Doing something you love which also serves a long-term bigger purpose PRESENT In-the moment happiness Wasting your Life Doing work you don’t enjoy in a job you don’t believe in (usually for money). Goofing Off Having fun, but not building anything for the future -ve +ve “Travel light” and make time for this: eg great vacations, and even some “mini-retirements” Beware the addictive & half-hearted versions: eg hourly tweeting / facebook / IM / emailing Don’t dream of living here all the time: even if you achieve it, the dream will probably turn sour. Lots of people end up here. Main causes? Financial Commitments and Fear. -ve

  43. “To achieve your goals in life.... ...help others achieve theirs.”

  44. Potential Career/Life Traps Everyone is different, so hard to generalize. But beware... • doing stuff “by default” • becoming dependent on high income • Worst version: hate job, feel insecure, earn a lot but spend it all (and some) • desire for status • eg fear that your friends are doing better Travel light and keep your options open If you get in a career rut, take a deep breath and *jump* ...because playing safe is often the most dangerous strategy

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