Marc Fecker is the CEO and co-founder of Robo Retail, a full-service digital agency that supports small- to medium-size retailers and provides strategic consulting for large companies like Hertz, Chase Bank, and recreational vehicle maker BRP, which manufactures Ski-Doo, Evinrude and Cam-Am among other brands.
He credits a lifelong passion for learning, a hunger for technology and innovation, and classes he took at Washtenaw Community College as keys to his success.
After high school, Fecker enrolled at Michigan Technological University in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to study mechanical engineering. After a year living in what he describes as the “polar vortex,” he was ready to try something new.
“As I started to get into it, I realized that mechanical engineering wasn’t as interesting to me as I thought it was going to be, so I dropped out of Michigan Tech,” said Fecker. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew there were things that I still wanted to learn.”
That is when he started taking classes at WCC.
“Among the classes I took at WCC were HTML programming and speech classes,” he said. “I really didn’t like public speaking at all. I was shy and nervous in front of an audience, and I still get nervous before speaking today. But the foundational tools that WCC gave me really made a big difference.
“When I think back to my WCC experiences, those were the most important classes I took,” he continued. “It really changed my perspective and approach to public speaking.”
Today, he is a paid speaker and has completed more than 40 engagements, including one at the IBM Watson Conference that he describes as, ”a TED Talk on steroids.”
Confidence in public speaking was not the only thing he got from his speech courses at WCC. He also received the confidence to go out and pursue his dreams.
“The instructor in my first speech class was a mentor to me,” he said. “She helped me figure out what was important and helped me make some early life decisions.”
One of those choices was joining CorTech Computers, a start-up computer company in New Jersey.
“It was something that I was really interested in doing and very passionate about, but I was scared to take the plunge,” he said. After leaving CorTech, Fecker joined Ciber, Inc. as an IT Business Consultant and later joined Ford Motor Company. At Ford, Fecker served as the Vice President of Innovation and created the company’s FordDirect Innovation Lab.
“We hired hundreds of people when I was at Ford,” said Fecker. “There are two schools that consistently sent us graduates that are equipped to contribute right away – the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit and WCC.”
“My advice to WCC students is to be proud of going there,” he continued. “What you’re learning at WCC is immediately applicable to what you need to know in the ‘real world’ to succeed at your professional career.”
“The students that go to WCC are around people that can help them achieve what they want to accomplish in life, and that is what is unique and special about WCC,” he concluded. One of the benefits of a community college like Washtenaw is that you have more opportunity to discover what you’re passionate about.
At a traditional four-year college, you’re on their path as soon as you enter the program. As long as you stay on that path, you’ll be fine. But if you want to deviate from that path, try something else, or explore a different area, you find that there’s very little flexibility. At WCC, you can create your own program of study, and you will develop the skills and knowledge you need to do the things you want to do.
Marc Fecker, CEO and Co-Founder
of Robo Retail in Ann Arbor
ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN GENERAL STUDIES
WCC’s Associate Degree in General Studies is designed for students that want to earn an associate degree by creating a personalized program. Working with an academic advisor, students must take a minimum of 60 credits and can include coursework from all areas of the college.
Go to WCCNET.EDU/PROGRAMS for more information about the Associate Degree in General Studies.