As part of the Summer@Highland 2009 (more info) curriculum, we offered a series of complimentary forums to discuss and address key aspects of the early company creation process.

Bill Warner founded Avid Technology in 1987 when he discovered a way to copy videotape footage in real-time to digital hard disks, a pioneering discovery that created a new category in the media and entertainment industry. In 1991, Bill started Wildfire Communications, developer of an innovative electronic secretary that used speech recognition to manage one’s phone calls and messages, and sold it to Orange, PLC., in 2000.

Since 2000, Bill has shared his time between work with non-profits, and a focus on helping entrepreneurs. In 2002, Bill started a shared-space center for entrepreneurs called the Collaboration Space at Warner Research. This center is now called the Brickyard Collaboration Space and provides low-cost space to early stage entrepreneurs. Many successful companies have started here and moved on to get additional capital for growth.

Additionally, Bill has acted as an angel investor for eight startups, and for three non-profits. The startups are in such diverse areas as 3D animation, email-based blogging, event networking, ad insertion for online videos, visual environments for nightclubs, shared calendars, and compensation design and management. The non-profits are involved with historic/current mapping of Boston for planning purposes; a film school, and an open-source mechanical design approach for new vehicles for people with disabilities.

Lessons Learned from a Legend - Bill Warner

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