Posted Under: Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Our Heroes

Today we are talking to Linda Pelekoudas, next guest under the “Our Heroes” series. Linda started her career as an organic chemist, far from the world of business and entrepreneurship.  She decided to break the 9 to 5 jail while working at IBM, where, in 2009, her job along with 4999 others was outsourced to a developing country. Linda’s company, Strategy and Design Solutions, helps other companies by finding un-tapped ways to grow.  Linda’s goal is to help create jobs for the economy, let’s dig deeper into her success story…

DD: Who are you and what kind of corporate job were you at?

LP: My name is Linda Pelekoudas. Today I am the principal managing partner of Strategy and Design Solutions. Over the past 20 some years I have been employed by a who’s who of Corporate America. When I wasn’t employed by them I was a consultant to them. But I began my career as an organic chemist far from the world of computers or business systems.  At school I had also studied process engineering of food.  In about 1989 after doing something clever with a computer – In reality I was lazy and dreaded the repetitive and error prone part of my work in the lab – I was invited to create my first computer experiment. I planned and scheduled production of the P32 lab at DuPont Medical Products Division in Boston MA.  My experiment went head to head with the guys who had run the lab for 40 years, which did not make me a very popular person.  My experiment won.  Item masters, bills of materials, and many other systems later I emerged as a software development manager, solution architect, and a senor consultant at Big Blue.  I was there for 10 years.

DD: What made you leave the job?

LP: Off-shoring – I had my first big job transition at IBM in 2006 when I moved from Software Group to Global Business Services.  Three years later, after creating a reproducible process for consulting engagement solution creation, and training up the new team in India, my job and 4999 other jobs were gone from IBM.  We were the third group of 5K in less than a year. 2009.

DD: When did you realize that you wanted to be an entrepreneur & why?

LP: Surprisingly this awareness occurred many years before I took action on it.  It was in 1996, while building another team to create another system.  I thought to myself, I could do this.  I could lead a company.  About the same time many of my professional colleagues were saying things to me like “If you ever form a company, I want to be a part of it.”  I never have a dull moment.  I am always creating a vision then driving toward it.  As an entrepreneur I am free to choose what I want to focus on, I don’t have to ask permission. With our current economy I believe that it will be the growth of entrepreneurs into enterprises that will fuel our domestic economic recovery.  Because of this, at Strategy and Design Solutions, I am focusing on entrepreneurs and ways I and my team can help to grow their ventures.  We are helping the smallest of companies think like the biggest enterprises and map a course to realize that kind of growth. All in the interest of creating jobs.

DD: What did you do to break the corporate jail?
LP: While still in a corporate confine, I always found a way to take on the mission, but to make the goals my own.  This allowed me to have a small space to be creative, and to innovate a solution that did not exist before.

DD: How did you prepare for the employee to entrepreneur transition?

LP: In my last corporate position I had a lot of autonomy.  It was entirely up to me to find my work and to work it as a member of the client team.  It was training wheels for prospecting.  I learned to be accountable to myself and to follow through on things with out someone else telling me to do so.

DD: What are your suggestions for aspiring entrepreneurs?

LP:
a. Take the time to really understand yourself and what motivates you.  Build your business around that.
b. Have a vision.  – This is the small point of light on the horizon that gives you focus.
c. Be realistic about your strengths and weaknesses, and invite others who counter balance you to the venture. – Find mentors – No one can know everything.
d. Take the time to develop and refine yourself as a leader – everyone that participates in your business will be looking to you!
e. While keeping it fun – have a plan that maps the actions you take to your goals.  Track them – measure them – celebrate achievements (big and small)

DD: How are you doing and how do you feel now?

LP: I could not be happier.  I am sure of what I am doing.  I have a broad enough field of things I could do and clear focus on my current goals.  I have great relationships with the people I work with and am constantly amazed at the terrific innovative ideas people have for businesses.

DD: That’s Linda Pelekoudas, founder of Strategy and Design Solutions. Her story showcases a growing concern for the workforce. With the growing number of companies outsourcing to save money, the security that once came with a job, no longer exists. People are being laid off due to downsizing, outsourcing, or re-structuring.  In today’s under-employed economy, what is your back-up plan in case your employer’s next move is to downsize or offshore?

Success to all!