According to Chema Garcia-Soto, the drive to be an entrepreneur has always been inside of him. It’s in his DNA. However, throughout his career, he never took a chance and set out on his own. He explains, “I stopped myself because of fear and limiting beliefs. I needed to feel the security and certainty of a big corporation. I needed to feel I had enough savings. I needed to feel I was prepared enough. But I wasn’t fully happy. I’m grateful for the experiences I have had, but I knew that if I didn’t go out and at least try, I would regret it all my life.”
Chema officially made the decision to pursue his entrepreneurial passion not long after his 40th birthday. He had spent his 30s working for medical device company Medtronic, ultimately serving as a global commercial senior director overseeing the digital surgery division. During his tenure with the company, he found MIT Sloan Executive Education and, in 2018, began working towards achieving his Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership. He took courses like Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy and Internet of Things: Business Implications and Opportunities. When he chose to pivot professionally, he had one experience left on his MIT Sloan to-do list: the Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP). Initially postponed because of the Covid pandemic, the EDP launched again in June of 2022, and Chema participated in the highly anticipated cohort.
Ready for Action
“What attracted me to the EDP is that it is very action oriented. I knew that it would give me the tools and the skills that I need to achieve my goals,” he observes. To allow himself to focus fully on the task-at-hand and prepare for his next move as an entrepreneur, Chema left his position at Medtronic. He joined EDP, a six-day in-person program that is held on MIT’s Cambridge campus, and he walked away from the experience with a new skillset, confidence and reignited passion to follow his dreams. From hands-on instruction from Professor William Aulet based on his book Disciplined Entrepreneurship to networking opportunities, lectures by venture capitalists, and discussions with entrepreneurs in residence, the program took participants through the entire process of building a company from the ground up.
"What I really got out of this program is the confidence that I have what it takes, to know that I am prepared enough, my skills are robust enough, and I have enough experience to take the leap and start a business."
“Everything about being an entrepreneur is challenging, from building a startup thesis to convincing investors to invest money to developing a product to convincing users to pay for and use your product. Then you have to manage your company through the growth state, dealing with dangers and pitfalls along the way. I was so out of my comfort zone, but the EDP gives you a process. If you follow the process, you can eliminate so many of those pitfalls right away. The program gives you the strategies and tactics you need to prevent making costly mistakes,” Chema says.
Of course, the EDP gave him something else as well. “What I really got out of this program is the confidence that I have what it takes, to know that I am prepared enough, my skills are robust enough, and I have enough experience to take the leap and start a business,” he asserts. “Now I have a process that I can follow. And I believe that I’m well-equipped to succeed.”
A New Adventure
After completing the EDP and his Executive Certificate, Chema began networking, researching, and considering startup opportunities in the healthcare field. In September of 2022, the newly minted entrepreneur, who resides in Miami, Florida, joined London-based neurotechnology startup CoMind as Chief Commercial Officer. He brings with him to the position an impressive level of enthusiasm and an entire toolbox of skills that he can attribute to MIT Sloan.
“The most successful entrepreneurs had the courage to follow their passion and the support of an incredible ecosystem that gave them the tools they needed. The EDP democratizes access to that magic recipe,” Chema states. “If you want to be an entrepreneur, you should take this training because it is going to equip you with what you need to at least chase your dreams. You might succeed, you might not. But at least you’ll feel confident enough to give it a shot.”
As Chema pursues his own entrepreneurial passion, he hopes to one day return to the EDP to share his own story of success. “I want to go through this whole journey, build a viable product, raise funds from venture capitalists, grow the business, go through an exit, and leave a legacy. Then I would like to give back to the community by being an entrepreneur in residence and ‘returning the boon’,” he concludes. “It’s a multiplier effect. The more startups we create, the more problems we solve, the more employment we create—it’s an incredible way to give back to society. So I want to enjoy living this journey, succeed, and give back. That’s my inspiration.”
Learn more about MIT Sloan Executive Certificates and the Entrepreneurship Development Program.