In 1965 he moved his young family back to Vancouver and started his career as a professor at UBC. By 1968 he was feeling the urge to try his hand at entrepreneurship and, with his friend and colleague, Vern Dettwiler, founded MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates in the basement of his Vancouver home in 1969 while continuing to serve as a professor at UBC.
In 1965 he relocated his family to Vancouver and began his career as a professor at UBC. By 1968, he felt the urge to pursue entrepreneurship, and with his friend and colleague, Vern Dettwiler, they founded MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates in the basement of his Vancouver home in 1969 while continuing to teach at UBC.