Tell Me More: Matthew Wade, Adjunct Professor, Course Developer and Coordinator, Stevens Institute of Technology
Where did you grow up, and what sparked your interest in entrepreneurship?
I grew up in northern New Jersey, in a small town called Glen Rock. My father was part of the original ABC Eyewitness News team in New York City.
The spark? That’s easy. Growing up in the culture of journalism taught me to ask questions, verify assumptions, and never accept anything at face value. That is the essence of quality entrepreneurship, and it created a foundation for me.
I graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in broadcast journalism, but when I realized how low the initial pay would be, as I had various financial obligations, I instead pivoted to tech sales. This was in the 1990s, when working in e-business and ecommerce with companies transitioning to the web was rather lucrative. What I learned from the experience was that I genuinely liked solving problems for people. I’ve always been a people pleaser, and so this just made sense.
I eventually took on a role as vice president of sales with an ed-tech firm, Goalquest. That experience introduced me to higher education and helped me realize that was the space where I could make the greatest impact.
One late night, while driving on the interstate in southern Indiana, heading to my next day of presentations, I had a eureka moment. It revolved around aligning academic and career planning in a well-researched and strategic manner. After building and testing it, I resigned from my job and pursued it full time. It was an exciting time for me professionally; I spent six years developing that company before selling it in 2015.
My success as an entrepreneur has been based on relationships. I possess a curiosity and a willingness to network heavily and create energy and movement. I meet interesting people who influence me. I constantly put myself out there. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. But greatness resides in the discomfort.
How did you come to your role at Stevens Institute of Technology?
I always attend networking events. One event in particular, the New Jersey Tech Meetup, brought me to Stevens. The more I attended the Meetup, the more I wanted to get involved.
I eventually began volunteering at the meetup and was assigned front desk duties along with a Stevens employee named Sandra, whose position was connected to invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She introduced me to speaking, mentoring, and pitch competition judging opportunities within their engineering department’s senior design program.
I supported students in that manner for two years prior to selling my business. But once I did sell, I found myself with a lot of free time on my hands. I was asked by Stevens to teach a section of an innovation and problem-solving course. I had never taught in the classroom, but I was already teaching my methodology to my employees and as an advisor to entrepreneurs and had an ability to get the best out of people.
My transition to the classroom felt very natural. My first year, I taught a section and loved it. The ensuing year, one turned into four, and by year four I was asked to revise the course based on my methodology. By year five I was hiring instructors and shaping course culture, and that has continued to evolve to where it is today. Looking at the process, I am proud of what was built and how it has impacted student-led project outcomes.
Today, I continue to coordinate and teach my senior innovation course. I recently took on the position of course coordinator and instructor for Senior Design Experience in the Computer Science Department at Stevens, where I teach project management. I also run Stevens’ annual Ansary Entrepreneurship Competition.
Ansay Entreprenuership Competition 2026
Tell me about your role as a mentor to an I-Corps team from Stevens in 2019.
In 2019 I was the industry mentor for a Stevens team doing a regional I-Corps cohort. Interestingly enough, I found that I, too, was a student. The experience tightened up my own methodology and best practices. When it concluded, I made it a point to stay in touch with Ariella Trotsenko and the I-Corps team at the NY Hub. The ongoing building of those relationships over the years ultimately led to this role.
What do you see as the biggest takeaways from I-Corps?
One of the biggest lessons of I-Corps is the importance of getting out of the building. It is imperative to approach and talk to people, no matter how uncomfortable that premise is.
Don’t be so in love with your idea that you push against what you are learning. Your original concept might evolve into something else. I tell my students all the time, your intelligence is your own worst enemy. Just because you think it’s a great idea doesn’t mean the market will agree. If you build it first and become a solution looking for a problem, you will find yourself on the fast track to failure.
For most people, the immersion in customer discovery that I-Corps offers is an eye-opening experience. You need to speak with a broad cross section of people and ask open-ended questions. And I mean a high number of conversations! Speak with dozens of people, seventy, eighty, or more. And don’t talk about your idea. No leading questions. The people you interview should not be trying to make you happy with their answers. You need them to speak honestly. It is then your task to find the trends and form your value proposition.
If I had to distill I-Corps into one lesson, it’s learning how to listen. People often think innovation is simply about your great idea. I think it starts with understanding people. Customer discovery teaches you how to truly listen, find patterns, and let the market guide your thinking.
Tell me about your Tech Scout role. What does that mean in practice?
My role as a Tech Scout is still quite new. What excites me about the role is that it allows me to do more intentionally what I’ve already been doing for years; helping entrepreneurial teams move from ideas to action. It gives me another way to support students, faculty, founders, and innovators throughout the Stevens ecosystem.
Can you share a market or customer challenge for which you’d like to see a solution?
We are always looking at AI and its effect on jobs, on problem solving, and on society. AI is the most important technological shift that we will see in our lifetimes. My hope is that we don’t lose sight of the human element in the process. It is one thing to be led; it is another to collaborate. We must be collaborative, not only to produce the strongest results on behalf of customers, but to maintain our humanity in the process.
Can you share a recent accomplishment?
Competition has always been part of my DNA. I was an athlete growing up, and I still love the energy that comes from people striving to be their best. I’ve tried to create that competitive culture in our senior innovation course. We have many course sections, nine instructors, each section housing six to eight project teams, and they all compete in our annual Ansary Entrepreneurship Competition. Our instructor team gets competitive but in an earnest and collegial manner. That mindset trickles down to the teams and, come April, that spirit is felt throughout the course. It’s fun!
I am happy to say, of the 150 senior design teams competing in this year’s competition, my teams performed very well, taking home the first and second place prizes. I guess I now have bragging rights among the instructors until next April.
Another area of competition that will never leave me is the pursuit of success in entrepreneurship. I’m still an entrepreneur, and I’m continually exploring new societal challenges that call for a solution. An example is an app I developed that facilitates travel planning. The amount of information you can access when planning an itinerary can be overwhelming. I want users to engage in a purposeful way that offers a symbiotic relationship between humans and AI, so the experience for users is collaborative rather than being led to conclusions.
What are you reading (or hoping to read soon)?
I am a voracious reader and have stacks of books on the shelves, windowsills, and floor of my living room at home. When I read for pleasure it’s usually historical in nature. I love to immerse myself in great historical characters and understand their world view. Right now, I am reading Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson. The biography is fascinating, and Franklin is probably my favorite character in American history. He was an inventor and innovator, he was funny, always underestimated, and he marched to the beat of his own drum his entire life. He was, as the saying goes, crazy like a fox. There was a method to his madness. I would have enjoyed having a beer with him.
What do you do to relax?
When I was running my company, my burnout was significant. I lacked the necessary maturity and life experience at the time to manage stress and anxiety, and I realized I needed a way to rest and reset my mind. I immersed myself in yoga, journaling, meditation, and eating right. I did a deep dive into the subject of neuroplasticity, and the idea that I can rewrite the way I think and break free from negative thought patterns. What I noticed in the process was that not only did it enable me to become a better person and a healthier person inside, but I then became far more sympathetic and empathetic towards others. It was extraordinary.
We move in a fast-paced world, and we need to find ways to stay grounded. Even as a high-energy person, it’s important for me to find ways to slow down.
