Mike Williston is both a co-founder and the CEO of Satellite Displays. He is a results-driven entrepreneur who thrives in early-stage startups. As CEO, he is responsible for taking an idea to reality in his quest to transform the way we communicate. Satellite Displays’ created Badger, the world’s first closed captioning smart badge that converts speech-to-text and translations in real-time. Badger can also translate in 50+ languages. His vision for the company is what excites his team to elevate to the next level. Mike’s entrepreneurial journey started at a young age. In high school, Mike launched his first business venture, MGW Contracting, which he ran and operated throughout his undergrad at Monmouth University where he received a double major in Business Marketing and Management. At Monmouth, he was accepted into the accelerated MBA program and worked as a graduate assistant. After completing his MBA from Monmouth University, he jumped right into the startup world at Compliance Wave. Here he was the first employee part of the Founding Team and Director of Lead Generation. After launching, Mike and his team rapidly grew the business which resulted in a successful acquisition in 4 years. Next Mike grew interested in manufacturing and began working with Orient Corporation of America, a 100+ year old Japanese manufacturer of dyes and pigment dispersions. While working for Orient, Mike began developing Badger. In August 2019, Mike left Orient to pursue Badger full time and his former employer, Orient, became one of the first early investors in his company Satellite Displays.
Mike developed his competitive edge from playing sports growing up. Outside of work, you can still find him staying active in the gym or playing competitive basketball. And if it’s a windy day, you can find him in the ocean kitesurfing… his favorite type of “board meeting.”
