From doubts to dreams

Marc immersed himself in a range of classes at his local community college — engineering, astronomy, English — and eventually developed an interest in neuroscience. By the time he reached UC Santa Barbara, he was hooked. He considered medical school, maybe a Ph.D. “But that slowly morphed into entrepreneurship as I went through my schooling,” Marc says.

“At the time, I was applying to research positions in order to bolster my application for med school,” he says. “I would go to the library every day for eight hours to apply to a few positions and then read about EEG, a neuroimaging method, and other interfaces. I had this routine for a few months before I realized the eight hours was now solely dedicated to reading. Reading about this obscure topic gave me the idea to take the opportunity to utilize the technology.”

Marc’s company, Axon Interfaces, was born of that moment.

Axon’s software “diagnoses people’s brainwaves and measures drug effectiveness using artificial intelligence technology,” he explains. “Essentially, we take a look at the electrical signals on your scalp, which allows us to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases within one minute. Additionally, we have the capability of capturing someone’s subjective mental state.”

It’s been the perfect marriage of what Marc, Axon’s CEO, describes as his longtime passions — science and helping people. He credits that same combination for keeping him motivated and focused as an entrepreneur and a leader.

Marc’s advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs?

“Early on, I put a lot of weight on titles, assuming they dictated how I should interact,” he says. “But as I built my company, I realized that the person in front of me, no matter their position, has their own challenges and aspirations. When I started focusing on genuine, human-to-human connections, it became much easier to build meaningful relationships and communicate effectively. I wish I had known earlier that authenticity beats professional posturing every time.”