With over 500 graduates, the alumni of Carnegie Mellon University's Silicon Valley campus are making waves in their industries and climbing their way up the ladder. We present 'Where Are They Now?,' an opportunity for you to learn about our alumni and how they are impacting with innovation.
Where are they now?
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Wedding Party, a mobile app available on iOS and Android devices, creates an engaging experience for wedding guests by creating a forum for them to capture and share candid photos before and during the event. The startup, co-founded by Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley (CMU-SV) Software Engineering alumni (2009), Gordon McCreight, received $1 million in seed funding earlier this year and is poised to make a big splash this summer wedding season. MOREFriday, May 10, 2013
Brenton Marrelli (MS ’07) and Darwin Widjaja (MS ’07), recently jumped into the entrepreneurial pool with their startup Friend Trusted , a mobile application (and web site) that they like to call the eBay of home improvement. Using either the site or the mobile application, homeowners can very easily submit projects; with a brief description, including photos if needed; to Friend Trusted in order to obtain three estimates from service professionals willing to take on their job. MOREWednesday, March 20, 2013
With today’s proliferation of users engaged in Facebook, Twitter and social networks for seemingly every function, it is safe to say that social media has become a way of life. Many of these users are college students and new graduates, or those in the market for “early careers.” Can these early career seekers benefit from a use of social networks specifically geared toward the job search? The team behind collegefeed hopes to situate itself apart from other career sites and job boards by addressing this specific audience using today’s technology to revolutionize early career building. MORETuesday, March 5, 2013
Tapgreet, a startup co-founded by Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley (CMU-SV) alumnus, Amin Ariana, and sales and marketing leader, Paul Bussi, is on a mission to change the way consumers buy greeting cards. With consumer buying behavior continually shifting toward the most convenient option, most often in the form of online retail, the Tapgreet team recognized an opportunity to disrupt the greeting card industry by introducing self-service greeting card kiosks in small space but high traffic retail environments such as coffee shops. MOREMonday, February 25, 2013
It appears the sky is the limit for the Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley (CMU-SV) alumni team behind EngageClick, a startup with a disruptive approach to human engagement with multimedia content. In a few short months, EngageClick has raised its Series A funding, acquired paid marquee customers in the United States, Asia and Europe and settled into headquarters in downtown Palo Alto. MORETuesday, January 29, 2013
Two alumni at Carnegie Mellon University’s Silicon Valley campus have recently launched an iPad app of their startup, ComicBin, a subscription service for digital comics. Jason Goldsmith and Markus Lachinger started ComicBin after graduating in August 2012 from the MS Software Management program focused on software innovation and entrepreneurship. MORELeanplum, a mobile app and game optimization startup announced today that it has secured $825K in angel funding from high-profile backers such as TechStars, Kima Ventures, VoiVoda Ventures, and other individuals. The company, which counts a Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley (CMU-SV) campus graduate as a founder, will help mobile app developers optimize mission-critical metrics of mobile applications. MORE Giridhar Sreenivas (MS ’06), along with co-founder Dirk Sigurdson, recently announced the acquisition of their startup, Mobilisafe, by Boston-based Rapid7, a heavily-funded security company. Sreenivas reports that Rapid7 is working to build its Seattle office, so he will be spending much of his time recruiting new team members. He is looking to CMU alumni because, “anyone who completed a degree at CMU is a strong candidate for hire. It is much easier to vet someone who has cleared that bar out of the gate. It is an instant validator of their ability.”
MORE“I did not enter the program with any preconceived notion of being an entrepreneur, however, the practical nature of the courses allowed me to see that it was possible to create a real product and helped me envision starting a company." MORE As of December 2010, Ethan Eldridge (SM ’10) will have spent a decade at Eyefinity/OfficeMate, a business that provides a wide spectrum of custom software, online business tools, and complementary technologies in support of the ophthalmic industry. These tools allow eye care professionals to manage everything from medical records to patient reminders, all the way through the ordering process; all the systems they touch as part of running their practice. MORE Mei Chen (SE-PM 07) has been passionate about helping others since she was very young. As she gained experience and pursued her education, she has been actively seeking ways to expand her horizon. Chen urges fellow alumni to get involved, step out of their comfort zone and pursue philanthropic activities for the betterment of others. “It is extremely rewarding to take what you know and offer these skills and talents to those in need,” offers Chen. MORE "One of the privileges of my role as mentor at Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley is to watch very talented professionals such as Salim, Jarek, Philip and Ivetta meet as they work together to get their business idea off the ground and on a firm foundation. We faculty provide some direction, but it is students like Salim, Jarek, Philip and Ivetta who provide all the energy, enthusiasm and can-do attitude." MORE “I would be interested in meeting with other CMU alumni and faculty who are exploring this field. As the Energy & Sustainability space is so new, collaborating with other professionals in the area could be of benefit to all of us working in the area. Sharing knowledge has been extremely helpful for me in my changing roles in the software industry and I would encourage other alumni and students to get involved in such activities. My network has increased by at least 100 people since joining the CMU family. We have an opportunity as a community to provide for some very important contributions to software development and have an impact in the Silicon Valley and beyond.” MORE “The hands-on, team-based education I received at Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley has been invaluable to me. The constant support and encouragement from the faculty helped immeasurably in building the confidence necessary to venture out into the software industry and start our company. Even in the current economic climate, the skills that I’ve gained during my studies at Carnegie Mellon have equipped me to take on the challenge.” MORE Virginia currently designs and facilitates learning sessions around generational differences. “Diversity, is very important to the success of today’s industry, especially in a large, global corporation like Boeing. I feel privileged to be able to provide resources to the Boeing community,” explains Moreno. MORE McCreight says, “although I had learned software engineering on my own through seven years of hard work, it was still very useful to obtain a more formal education in the area. The faculty at CMU-SV were well-versed in the field as many of them had worked for software companies prior to teaching.” MORE “The faculty has very close connections to the software industry and that helped us to test our skills on real-world issues. I encourage other alumni to look for opportunities in their companies to provide internships to Carnegie Mellon students. Not only does it provide the ideal environment for students to learn the practices and processes in the software industry, it also provides the companies with extremely well-trained, potential employees.” MORE “Carnegie Mellon alumni share a unique community that can provide for a variety of professional opportunities as well as helping us to keep abreast of the latest developments in companies and learning how others may be facing and solving similar challenges in the field.” MORE
