Like most seniors, Erik Limpaecher is hoping to end the year with several good job offers. Unlike most, he isn't looking for a job. With any luck, he will be making offers to fellow students to work for a company he is founding.
Limpaecher, an electrical engineering major, is developing a device that improves the quality of electricity for businesses and industries that increasingly require clean, reliable power to run sensitive equipment. As other students focus on finishing senior theses, Limpaecher, who already is collaborating with four other seniors, will be seeking his first round of venture financing and hiring a management team.
"It's been a total roller coaster ride," said Limpaecher. "It's so much fun. Every day we learn something new."
His company, Power Silence, is based on technology for which he and his father obtained a patent in September, and which he further developed in an engineering class last semester. The real impetus, however, came when Limpaecher took the course "High Tech Entrepreneurship" taught by longtime entrepreneur Ed Zschau. The course is offered jointly by the departments of electrical engineering and of operations research and financial engineering.
Limpaecher's dorm room is a stand-in for the proverbial entrepreneur's garage. Circuit boards, wiring diagrams and testing equipment cover his desk. His bed in the opposite corner seems like an afterthought.
His room is also the Power Silence boardroom where Limpaecher and his one-time lab partner, John Lerch, meet frequently to discuss tactics. Three other seniors, Darren Hammell, Mark Holveck and Tom Vessella,pitched in to conduct market research and fine tune the business plan.
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Contact: Justin Harmon (609) 258-3601
