Alumni Spotlight

We’ll shout it from the rooftops: our alumni are remarkable! 600+ Startup Institute grads scatter the globe, sharing their incredible drive and spirit; making a difference and helping companies to grow. Today, we want to give a high-five to a few of the many doing us proud:

Once upon a time, Adam Haslerwas a student in our Boston Fall ‘12 Product & Design track. After graduating, he worked as head of product at EdTrips for over a year before leaving. Reengaging with the SI community and partner companies, Adam was introduced to The Big Studio. The connection was instantaneous. Sparks flew, and Adam fell in love with the cofounders. Big Studio soon proposed an offer and Adam accepted.  Adam is now working happily ever after as a UX designer/ developer. He is a frequent visitor at SIB, paying it forward to our new students as an instructor and alumni panel participant.

IntroducingElizabeth Long, Application Specialist at MOCA Systems, working on their newest offering Touchplan.io. Prior to Startup Institute, Liz worked as a legal assistant, but the work didn’t thrill her. Curious about coding, she discovered Girl Develop It and started a chapter in Boston so she could learn. Liz riled up the gumption to leave the lawyers in her dust and joined the Spring ‘14 Product & Design track, where she met the folks at partner company MOCA and found a perfect culture fit. She continues to shake up stereotypes and empower ladies through technology as a Chapter Leader at Girl Develop It, and was featured in a Boston Globe article highlighting coding as literacy. In Liz’s words,“the Internet is not this thing that’s separate from you any more. You can be part of it.” Liz Long- you inspire us.

Michael Donoghue is a startup-junkie through-and-through, and one of our most recent grads. Michael came to New York’s Sales & Account Management track from a financial tech startup in Edinburgh, looking to deep dive into a new tech ecosystem. Michael had no preconceived notions of where he might land next, and spent the summer reflecting on and defining his goals while evaluating the options. SoftLayer biz and community developer and SINY Summer ‘13 alumna Jennifer Litorja ended up connecting him to her company, and Michael hopped the pond to get started as community development manager at their London location. Two weeks in, Michael is linked-up with the SI community in his third startup city of 2014 and says SoftLayer is “so far…  so excellent.”