Highlighting iii Entrepreneurs for National Entrepreneurship Month
By Jordyn Pike
To celebrate National Entrepreneurship Month, we talked to Integrated Innovation Institute (iii) alumni founders about their entrepreneurial journeys. A recurring theme among the alumni’s startups is the use of AI solutions to address everyday or industry-specific problems.
What Does Being an Entrepreneur Mean to You?
Alumni have founded startups that span a variety of industries and regions, resulting in diverse perspectives on entrepreneurship. These founders are at various stages of the entrepreneurial process, from developing their products to raising capital for their ideas and bringing their dreams to life.
Catherine Li (MIIPS ‘22), founder of Locammend, an AI service that connects people with local service providers in their area based on a network of trusted referrals, spoke to the problem-solving nature that many entrepreneurs possess.
“I think that, being an entrepreneur means … turning ideas into something that makes a real difference in people's lives. It's about spotting a problem that maybe others overlook, and reinventing the experiences.” - Catherine Li
Locammend solves a problem that Catherine identified: how online reviews are scattered across numerous websites, unverified, and not trustworthy. Instead of relying on reviews from strangers, Locammend is reinventing word-of-mouth recommendations, making them searchable and shareable in one place.
According to Catherine, an entrepreneur is, in many ways, an investigator; they discover a problem, analyze all factors that contribute to the issue, and then develop a solution that solves or mitigates the problem’s impact on people’s lives.
Another perspective on what makes an entrepreneur comes from Candid Intelligence co-founder Hassan Azmat (MSTV ‘23), who emphasized the aspect of creation.
“An entrepreneur, to me, means more of having the luxury and freedom to create things the way you want to create them. You're not boxed in by any worldly things; the only box is yourself, and you can open that however you want to. I think that's the freedom of it.” - Hassan Azmat
For Hassan, being able to exist outside of the box of a traditional 9-to-5 has created an environment for creativity and problem-solving, and the reality of being forced to rely on yourself.
With this freedom to create, Hassan co-founded Candid Intelligence, an internal AI agent builder for EPC projects, which helps build energy infrastructure much faster. The goal of the startup is to build infrastructure and generate revenue much more quickly in the pre-construction space.
When asked what being an entrepreneur meant to him, Hassan replied that the job allows him to focus his full attention on one project and suits his work ethic perfectly. It requires having a hope and belief in yourself, your product, and your team, which is essential for success.
What is Something You Would Tell Your Past Self About Entrepreneurship?
While these featured alumni are fulfilling their goals of starting their own businesses, they were once students who were developing their entrepreneurial instincts. Entrepreneurship is an endeavor that differs for everyone, and the challenges faced are unique to each individual.
For Shrey Malhotra (MSSM ‘16), being an entrepreneur requires total focus and effort, and the ability to, at times, disregard the opinions of others to succeed.
The passage of time was also a topic of discussion for another iii alum. Sarika Bajaj (MSTV ‘20) was included on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for being the co-founder of Refiberd. Sarika and fellow CMU alum Tushita Gupta ( MS, Electrical and Computer Engineering ‘18) co-founded their startup, which uses AI software to detect fiber content of textile material, in hopes of ultimately creating a circular economy in the fashion industry. Refiberd, led by a team of female engineers, wants to solve the textile waste problem globally. Because of the scope of the problem the organization is trying to address, Sarika has had the opportunity to learn all facets of being an entrepreneur. Some of those facets involve developing your ideas, but some are related to the tedious nature of owning and operating your company.
“You have to do it every day, you have to work hard, you cannot cheat it. Do not take shortcuts; it will come back & bite you. Do not let other people tell you what is good or bad. Because that's not the point. The point is to learn and evolve.” - Shrey Malhotra
Shrey’s current startup believes the next generation of software won’t be coded; it will be composed. Like chefs using mise en place ingredients or musicians layering loops, they are making software creation expressive, creative, and modular. The Recipe Book enables non-coders and teams to craft high-quality, native iOS (Swift) and Android (Kotlin) apps, ready for the App Store and Google Play Store.
Additionally, he has been part of several startups throughout his career and is well-versed in the disciplines associated with startup success. He also noted that the time it takes for an idea to be developed into a startup will pass, even if a person does not pursue their ideas, so why not turn their dreams into reality?
The passage of time was also a topic of discussion for another iii alum. Sarika Bajaj (MSTV ‘20) was included on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for being the co-founder of Refiberd. Sarika and fellow CMU alum Tushita Gupta ( MS, Electrical and Computer Engineering ‘18) co-founded their startup, which uses AI software to detect fiber content of textile material, in hopes of ultimately creating a circular economy in the fashion industry. Refiberd, led by a team of female engineers, wants to solve the textile waste problem globally. Because of the scope of the problem the organization is trying to address, Sarika has had the opportunity to learn all facets of being an entrepreneur. Some of those facets involve developing your ideas, but some are related to the tedious nature of owning and operating your company.
“I didn't think I fully appreciated the length of time and the twists along the way that would happen. Being responsible for everything … you're the one sitting and dealing with all of it, so I don't think I expected how all-encompassing that really would look like, and also what it meant in terms of dealing with the highs and lows.” - Sarika Bajaj
What did Carnegie Mellon Teach You About Entrepreneurship?
Nursultan Dyussebayev (MSSM ‘19) co-founded Bult.Ai, whose mission is to make deploying software as easy as writing code for startups and developers, through a cloud platform that automates app development and devops, acting as an “AI autopilot”. Nursultan found that completing his master’s degree at CMU Silicon Valley was instrumental in his development as an entrepreneur and opened his mind to innovation.
“It also immersed me in the culture and mindset of Silicon Valley, how innovation happens, how people take risks, and how they build world-changing companies. The Integrated Innovation Institute, in particular, helped me bridge engineering and entrepreneurship, not just to build things that work, but to build things that truly matter.” -Nursultan Dyussebayev
Additionally, Nursultan noted that the MSSM program taught him to think at the intersection of technology, business, and design. At the same time, the emphasis on leadership prepared him to lead teams and execute projects with confidence.
Learning in an environment that promotes a rigorous work ethic was a bonus for Sarika Bajaj too, as she stated that CMU played a significant role in her journey towards becoming an entrepreneur. Despite the courses having a technical focus, they also emphasize the business side of startups.
Both Nursultan and Sarika noted that their graduate programs were instrumental in their careers as entrepreneurs, as they were afforded the opportunity to engage with business strategies coursework alongside their technical education, while building their tolerance for hard work.
What Is Your Vision for the Future of Your Business?
The final question asked of each entrepreneur was what their vision was for the future of their company. They were invited to imagine their startup in five years or ten years and questioned about what those milestones would look like.
Catherine Li described that she wanted Locammend to be a tool that people use to find businesses in their communities, but also be their first stop when researching services that they need.
“We wanted to make this product a very powerful companion for people looking for essential services. I really hope that in 5 years and 10 years…it can be a very powerful search and recommendation tool.” - Catherine Li
She said that their short-term goal is to make the product faster and more efficient for users. Eventually, Locammend will assist people in finding activities and entertainment, going beyond finding services. By expanding upon the user base, Locammend would allow people to more easily follow their friends' recommendations for local services and implement them into their daily lives. Hassan Azmat also had high aspirations for the future of his company, Candid Intelligence, which he hopes will enable innovation to occur more quickly by facilitating the development of new technology infrastructure that can be built faster.
“In the future, we see Candid being the company that speeds up the way the world works. Everything you see—from data centers to hospitals to physical infrastructure—originates from the built world. Candid’s job is to accelerate and grow that, to make it faster and more efficient.” - Hassan Azmat
Candid Intelligence, in the future, could lead to any construction project being fast-tracked, making pre-construction more efficient everywhere. This is at least what Hassan envisions for the future of his startup, echoing what Catherine answered, they both want their solutions to problems to be extensively adopted, and help as many people as possible.
As we celebrate National Entrepreneurship Month, our iii alumni remind us that entrepreneurship is about solving problems, staying motivated, and learning through the ups and downs. Their journeys demonstrate the value of hard work, creativity, and believing in one's own ideas.