UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In the latest episode of Invent Penn State’s Dare to Disrupt podcast, host Ryan Newman interviews Jeremy Frank, co-founder and CEO of KCF Technologies, a technology company based out of State College.
KCF Technologies provides proprietary machine health optimization hardware, software, and services to industry and military clients. Under Jeremy’s leadership, KCF has pioneered advancements in wireless vibration sensing and machine health monitoring. Today, the company is a global leader in predictive maintenance, monitoring over 80,000 machines across numerous industries, driven by Jeremy’s vision of eradicating unplanned downtime and enhancing industrial safety.
Jeremy graduated from Penn State in 1997 with his bachelor's in mechanical engineering, and in 2001 with his doctorate in mechanical engineering. He also received his master's degree from Penn State in 2005.
In this episode, Jeremy shares the evolution of KCF Technologies, from an imports/exports company to a consultancy to the thriving solutions software company it is today. He shares his background growing up in Pittsburgh helping with his father’s forensic engineering business. He also talks about the devastating realities of failure in business, juxtaposed with the allure of all the freedom entrepreneurship provides.
Listen to Jeremy Frank’s episode of Dare to Disrupt
At the end of the episode, current Penn State doctoral student Ankur Verma joins the conversation. Ankur is the founder and CEO of Lightscline, an AI-based software that will significantly reduce the amount of data collected by devices such as drones and satellites. He talks to Jeremy about addressing mid-market vs. enterprise customers, how AI is impacting industry, as well as the biggest problem facing industry today.
Students can apply or be nominated to be on the show here.
About Dare to Disrupt
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Dare to Disrupt is a podcast from Invent Penn State about Penn State alumni who are innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders, and the stories behind their success. The podcast is hosted by alumnus Ryan Newman, a graduate of the Smeal College of Business and a Schreyer Scholar alumnus who is now a managing director at Goldman Sachs.
Past episodes of Dare to Disrupt include interviews with Garry Gilliam, David Rusenko and Jess Weiner. New episodes of "Dare to Disrupt" release monthly. Learn more at invent.psu.edu/dare-to-disrupt.
Invent Penn State is a commonwealth-wide initiative to spur economic development, job creation and student career success.