What Captivates You Will Sustain You: Entrepreneur Doug Speight on Risk, Learning & Success!

"Entrepreneurial success isn't built on what you can do - it's built on what captivates you to do it exceptionally well." - Doug Speight.

In this powerful episode of Conversations With Cleo, I sit down with Doug Speight—Professor of the Practice at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Duke I&E Lecturing Fellow, and CEO of AxNano—to explore what truly separates successful serial entrepreneurs from those who struggle.
Doug's journey is remarkable: from third-generation Durham entrepreneur to founding five tech startups across engineering design, advanced materials, fintech, and climate technology, while simultaneously teaching the next generation of business leaders at two of America's top universities.

🎯 IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:
→ How serial entrepreneurs approach and manage risk differently from traditional business leaders
→ Why pursuing what captivates you isn't just motivational advice—it's a strategic imperative for sustainable entrepreneurship
→ The power of continuous learning as the engine behind multiple successful ventures
→ Doug's transformation from MBA student at UNC Kenan-Flagler to professor at both UNC and Duke University
→ Building AxNano: Tackling one of the world's biggest environmental challenges—PFAS "forever chemicals."
→ The 75+ year legacy of entrepreneurship in the Speight family and what it taught Doug about resilience
→ How to recognize trillion-dollar opportunities hiding in "unsexy" industries
→ Balancing academic teaching with active entrepreneurship: lessons from doing both simultaneously

💡 KEY TAKEAWAY:
The most successful entrepreneurs don't just chase profitable opportunities—they pursue what captivates them deeply enough to sustain the marathon of building something truly meaningful.

🎓 ABOUT DOUG SPEIGHT:
Doug Speight is Professor of the Practice at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he serves as Faculty Advisor for the STAR Program, and Lecturing Fellow at Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship. As CEO of AxNano, he's pioneering climate technology solutions to capture and destroy PFAS contamination. Doug has founded five tech startups, served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Google for Startups and CODE2040, and led technology commercialization efforts at NASA and the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He earned his undergraduate degree from North Carolina A&T State University and his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

📚 ABOUT CLEO FRANKLIN:
Cleo Franklin Jr. is the Founder, President & CEO of Franklin Strategic Solutions™, Franklin Leadership Foundation, a Senior Corporate Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston-Downtown's Marilyn Davies College of Business. With 35 years of Fortune 500 executive experience at John Deere, Case New Holland, and Mahindra, Cleo now consults across the business spectrum using his proprietary 3I Methodology™ (Information that Inspires, Inspiration that Informs, Implementation that Transforms). He's the author of ten books, including "The Breakthrough Collection," and hosts the Conversations With Cleo podcast.

🎙️ SUBSCRIBE to Conversations With Cleo for more authentic conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are making an impact and driving transformation.

🔗 CONNECT WITH CLEO FRANKLIN:
Website and Books: www.cleofranklinleadership.com
Consulting: www.franklinss.com

💬 WHAT RESONATED WITH YOU?
Drop a comment below and let me know which insight from Doug hit home for you. And if you're an entrepreneur, what captivates YOU?