Mike Payne, the celebrated serial founder behind PTC, SolidWorks and SpaceClaim, shares his journey through the evolution of computer-aided design from punch cards to cloud computing. His candid insights reveal how identifying technological shifts and understanding real engineering needs led to revolutionary CAD innovations that democratized design tools.

• Started career studying physics when computers were rare in undergraduate education
• Learned programming by necessity for a microwave concrete curing project
• First encountered CAD through PDMS at Prime Computer in the early 1980s
• Co-founded PTC with Sam Geisberg, pioneering parametric modeling using "feature recipes"
• Recognized the potential of Windows NT to disrupt workstation-based CAD
• Founded SolidWorks to bring affordable 3D CAD to Windows platforms
• Made key decision to license Parasolid geometry kernel after ACIS proved inadequate
• Developed SpaceClaim for direct modeling, enabling analysts to modify designs
• Created Kenesto to solve cloud-based CAD document management challenges
• Advocates hiring engineers and teaching them programming rather than vice versa
• Believes in evolution rather than revolution in technology development
• Maintains that cloud and desktop software should interoperate seamlessly

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