Co-Founder at Throne.xyz www.throne.xyz My first question is, what made you decide to get into tech? Growing up it was something that was a part of our household. My dad’s an entrepreneur as well, so he always wanted the latest computer or gadget for his office. We always had more computers around the house than we needed! So from very early on we were encouraged to get into it. I’m from an immigrant family [I don’t know if this is a fair generalization] but for us, at least, it meant
Founder of 20/20 Shift www.2020shift.com How did you get involved with General Assembly? I’ve been here [General Assembly] for about a year now. I was always familiar with them since their inception, but my background is in recruiting and talent acquisition. I had gone to an event maybe about a year or so ago. One of the guys, now a former colleague, worked there. We met. When my role became available, he reached out to me, and he said, “This sounds a dope role for you. Would you
COO: Messiah Jacobs & CEO: Savalas Colbert www.entercharge.com Tell us a bit about yourselves. Messiah: Yeah for sure. We have a start-up that we’ve been pushing forward for the last year called entercharge. entercharge’s focus is on creating additional services in the restaurant space. We created a hardware device that sits on top of tables and allows people to charge the battery in their cell phone. We’re also allowing people to do other things right from the table, such as paying for their bill or requesting additional services. This is something
Co-founder and CEO at Classana. Host at of10podcast What made you decide to work in tech? My dad was really into computers when I was growing up. There were always computer parts spread throughout the basement: motherboards, monitors that no longer worked–all sorts of parts. I specifically remember him sitting in his office, which was next to my room in the basement and separated only by a very thin wall he and my uncle had put up, and he would talk from time to time with people on the phone and
What made you decide to work in tech? I actually started off wanting to be a teacher but when I got into classrooms I realized that a lot of teachers’ hands were tied by the principals, and the principals’ hands were tied by the laws/government. Then I quickly found out that politicians were mostly influenced by money, business, and interest groups. I realized that the fastest way to affect change and make a lot of money was to persue the tech industry and figure out how to build products and
What made you decide to work in tech? The short answer is that it was a financial opportunity for me. When I first started, I really didn’t understand what a software engineer did or was. I was just happy to be graduating from college with a pretty decent salary offer. But tech/software development was a natural fit for my curious personality. The technical challenges of building software appealed to the problem solver in me. What was an obstacle you faced and how did you overcome that obstacle? As a software
What made you decide to work in tech? I got into tech somewhat accidentally. I loved biology and chemistry in high school and started college planning to complete a MD/PhD after graduating. After working in a lab doing breast cancer research, I decided that I still wanted something scientific but a pursuit that involved people. I ended up majoring in psychology and starting my career in public health. Over the course of my career, I shifted to global health, which necessarily involved technology given my interests in systems change and
What do you do in tech? I am currently the CEO and Founder of the marketing firm called MilliSense. My company focuses on helping startups’ reach product market fit and also getting initial users and traction to for mostly startups and tech-related companies. We help them grow regardless of whether they are at the initial stage or if they have been in business for 3-5 years. For me it’s about finding creative ways to not only grow my own company but to also grow and scale other companies. It’s kind of maddening if you think
What made you decide to work in tech? Since as far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved gadgets. Technology and problem-solving have always piqued my interest. Back in the 80s, consumer technology wasn’t what it is today as far as being accessible and affordable and so we never had a computer in our household. To compensate, I read A LOT and also played with tech at school and even more so in college. This is where I got to build my first computer and never looked back. What was an
Melissa James is President and CEO of The Tech Connection, the premier marketplace for purpose-driven, diverse technical talent. Her mission is to help people reach their highest potential by accelerating their individual pathway to success. On top of running her business, Melissa is the founder of the Black Tech Boston Meetup, a platform created to celebrate the impact of technology within African-American communities. She recently received the U.S. Presidential Service Award and the 2015 Pursuer award from the African Youth Excellence organization for her relentless commitment to the community. What
