Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Desert island game: Minecraft

‍

1. What is your role at MassLight?

I’m a software engineer on the Build-for-Equity team. I help develop websites and apps, collaborate with the design and marketing teams, and meet with potential Build-for-Equity startups. In addition, I manage the development of some projects, such as Ubinum.

‍

2. How did you find your way into venture capital funding and software engineering?

I had an interest in programming growing up, and got more into it in high school. I studied Computer Science at the University of Maryland, and applied for an internship at MassLight as a junior. I joined the Build-for-Equity team, and extended my internship, continuing throughout my senior year.

After graduating I worked at Amazon Web Services for a year, then came back to MassLight in 2021. 

‍

‍

3. What’s the best part of working with startups?

I like working with founders from different backgrounds who are building startups in different industries. I feel really privileged to work in this role, because my job is to work with startups every day. As someone who wants to start a business one day, I get first-hand experience with the challenges founders face, which teaches me a lot.

‍

4. What excites you the most about MassLight's Build-for-Equity program?

Each startup has its own unique challenges, and I learn more with each startup I work with. I think the program is interesting to startups because many founders and startup team members struggle due to not having a technical background; and can’t afford to hire someone to build a product. By investing both money and time, MassLight works with these startups and helps build their products. We have an interest in doing a good job building these startups' products, in everything from technical architecture to user experience to marketing; we're only successful if the startup is successful.

‍

5. You’ve been hard at work all morning; time for some fresh air. Where do you take a break?

Chipotle.

‍

6. Name a surprising skill or experience that influences your passion for mentoring small businesses.

I'm passionate about user experience, and am interested in making complicated systems easy to use. A lot of things today—whether they're digital like websites, or systems in the world—have poor user experiences. For example, my new apartment building uses a mobile application that requires Bluetooth to unlock doors, which is a flawed system for multiple reasons.

Making complicated things easy to understand and use is a challenging problem. A lot of the startups we work with have complicated systems. It’s an interesting challenge to make these systems easy to use, while still providing all of the functionality the startups want.

‍

‍

7. What kind of startups excite you most?

I'm interested in startups that are trying to make an impact. The startups that are most exciting to me are either trying to build something new, or improving what's already out there.

‍

8. If you could meet any fictional character, who would you meet (and why?)

Eddard Stark. He seems like he’d make a great friend.

‍

9. What’s a piece of advice you would give an aspiring software engineer?

I think a good way to learn is by building things. As you learn new things, apply them in projects. They can be small things that improve your life, or just for fun. It will give you really valuable experience.

‍

10. One website you think everyone should read:

The posts on Bartosz Ciechanowski’s website. Not for everyone, but if you’re interested in how things like watches and the Global Positioning System (GPS) work, you might like it. He does a great job explaining complex things, and the user experience is really good.

‍