‘Indiana Jones’ of IT, Swain Porter to talk Monday at Schulich

IT entrepreneur Swain Porter, co-founder and CEO of FEV Analytics and Catalytic Services, a global software services company, will present “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Geeks: Adventures in Entrepreneurship” Monday.

The talk will take place March 24, from 5:30 to 6:55pm, at W132, Seymour Schulich Building, Keele campus. Porter was dubbed “Indiana Jones” by a Wall Street Journal reporter for his adventures while building a software development company and campus in India.

Swain Porter
Swain Porter

Starting an IT company is challenging enough; imagine going to a complex, emerging market to build and operate it – especially as a young, first-time visitor. This is a story that will fascinate entrepreneurs and others interested in international management, government relations, software development and India as a marketplace.

It served as the basis for a sophisticated international negotiation simulation developed by Schulich School of Business Professor Steve Weiss, a leading authority on international negotiation. Three of these simulations will be run on March 21 and 22 with 33 MBA students in Weiss’s International Negotiation class.

In his talk, Porter will describe his entry and 10 years of operation in India, and the lessons he learned there and in the years afterward. Today, in addition to his own entrepreneurial ventures, Porter is an active angel investor, startup mentor, and advisor to early and growth-stage technology companies in the northwestern United States and in the Asia Pacific region.

Prior to his lecture, Porter will meet with Schulich MBA students to provide advice on startup ideas and ventures.