Craig Vodnik

Craig Vodnik he/him/his

Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor

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Education

BS Nuclear Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign - 1992

Biography

Craig never wanted to be an entrepreneur, didn't know what that word meant and was unaware that it was a career path. But when his employer was acquired and opportunity met desire: not to be an entrepreneur, but to work with his colleagues. Craig and three friends from Germany started an e-commerce platform, Cleverbridge, with some ideas on how to do things better, some capital to invest and industry connections who trusted them.

Over sixteen years at Cleverbridge, Craig performed virtually every role as the company evolved from a small team of e-commerce enthusiasts to landing their first client within a year and achieving profitability after two. Learning on the job what it meant to make difficult decisions, Craig focused on sales, marketing, leadership and team building until ultimately selling the company to a private equity group in 2021. He left the company shortly thereafter after handing over the reins to a new CEO.

In 2012, Craig started giving back to the University of Illinois, first as an entrepreneur-in-residence at EnterpriseWorks and as a judge at the Cozad New Venture Challenge, then speaking to students about his entrepreneurial journey in numerous TEC classes. A few years later, Craig began supporting the NPRE department, having graduated with a degree in 1992, although he never directly worked in the nuclear field.

Craig is an adjunct clinical professor supporting the TE 598 Deep Tech Accelerator class and shining a light on entrepreneurship as a career path option for NPRE students, faculty, and staff.

He now lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, daughter, a dog and a growing vinyl collection. If you want to talk, look for Craig on the ham radio bands at K5AYO.