Abstract: Marshall Brain will discuss his experiences starting three very successful businesses, all by accident. He will share lessons learned and insights that attendees might find beneficial in their life journey. He will also tell you where he is headed next.

Short Bio: Marshall Brain is most widely known as the founder of HowStuffWorks, an award-winning resource website that offers clear, objective and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world around us actually works. The site, which he created as a hobby in 1998, has won countless awards including recognition in 2002 on PC Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Classic Web Sites, Time Magazine’s list of Top 50 Web Sites, and Yahoo! Internet Life’s award as the "Best Science & Technology Resource".

In addition to being a successful entrepreneur and consultant, Brain is also the author of more than a dozen books including Manna, How Much Does the Earth Weigh?, and The Teenager's Guide to the Real World, now in its tenth printing and selected for the New York Public Library's prestigious “Books for the Teen Age” list.

An accomplished speaker with an uncanny ability to deliver complex material in a manner that is easily understood by audiences of all types, Brain is a regular guest on radio and TV programs nationwide. He has been featured on CNN, CNN Headline News, Modern Marvels, Martha Stewart Living Radio, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2007, he was featured as the host of the National Geographic channel’s "Who Knew? With Marshall Brain", a series of one-hour fact-filled episodes taking the viewer on a journey into the world of product design, manufacturing and testing.

Brain earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rennselaer Polytechnic University and a M.S. in Computer Science from NC State University, where he taught computer science for six years, and was selected as a member of the NC State University Academy of Outstanding Teachers.

He resides in Cary, NC with his wife, Leigh, and their four children.