Qualcomm Founder Tells Grads How He Got Lucky

MIT grads may have left campus somewhat confused Friday after a commencement address by Qualcomm co-founder and CEO Irwin Jacobs. Not only did the 71-year-old entrepreneur make some obscure technological references -- that is, unless you're into vacuum tubing -- he shied away from offering a definite formula for success. Instead, he talked about the unlikely path that took him from being an unwilling hotel management student to founding a multi-billion dollar company (a 1991 Inc. 500 alum).

Beginning with his high school guidance counselor's advice that "there was no future in science, nor in engineering," Jacobs recalled initially enrolling in a hotel administration program. But, inspired by his love for math and science, he switched his major to engineering and eventually enrolled in MIT's graduate program. Following his heart paid off -- electrical engineering was suddenly in vogue and Jacobs co-authored a textbook, got a professorship, scored some consulting gigs, and finally founded his own firm, Linkabit.

Qualcomm was similarly the product of restlessness, luck, and ingenuity. After selling his consulting company, Jacobs found himself unhappy. "Retirement was a terrible thing," he said. "So I lasted about three months and then started Qualcomm. And I more or less assured my wife that if things went very well we might have 100 employees." Qualcomm now has some 8,000 employees, thanks partly to Jacobs' pioneering of digital wireless technology. The explosion of cell phone use didn't hurt either.

He closed by trying convey that the next generation of entrepreneurs will face a different series of challenges with solutions that have yet to be determined. He believes that one such challenge will be foreign competition in the sciences, telling grads that all they can do is wait and see -- and make sure they are prepared. "I wish you as much fun and excitement as I have had along the way," he said.

Senior contributing writer Max Chafkin has profiled companies such as Yelp, Zappos, Twitter, Threadless, and Tesla for the magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. @chafkin