Technology Chatter with Silicon Valley's Rich Miller

Our guest speaker today in my social media class was the experienced and influential CEO of Telematica, Inc., Rich Miller (@rhm2k).  Miller has had a long and impactful career in the area of consulting, investing, and software creation and has worked as an executive for many powerful companies in Silicon Valley. For those of you who only recognize the term “Silicon Valley” from the Bravo TV show, Start-Ups: Silicon Valley (and no, I’m not ashamed of this… well kind of), Silicon Valley is the nickname for the South Bay area of San Francisco, California. Silicon Valley has become the world’s “capital” for some of the largest technology corporations and is the home of thousands of small start-up businesses. 

Miller’s impressive career all started when he attended Stanford University and during his junior year had to make his own way so he began a job at IBM after taking only one quarter’s worth of a computer class. At the time Stanford did not offer an undergraduate degree in the area of computer science so Miller earned a bachelor degree in political science. It was a wonderful experience to be able to listen to such a successful man who truly has a passion for what he does. Many times throughout the lecture he referred to technology as “magical” and you could tell he still gets excited about what he does. Miller mentioned that he couldn’t believe that he gets paid to play with the “best toys imaginable”, technology. Three years ago Miller founded a company called, StreetLight Data Inc., which he describes as being like Google analytics but for brick and mortar. The list goes on and on for his accomplishments as a businessman (visit http://www.telematica.com/about-rhm/ for more info about his career history).

When referring to his business ideals, so to speak, he said an important factor is “learning how to make the elephants dance when you’re a little mouse,” in reference to the ability to keep big powerhouse companies excited about the inventions of small companies. I found Rich Miller to be extremely well-educated and well-spoken in his area of expertise and I encourage people, especially computer technology junkies, to learn more about him.