Happy March! Every month this newsletter highlights:
Two startups – one founded by a current student and one founded by an alumni
Two people – a current student and an alumni
Updates – on-campus events and other BC tech updates
Featured jobs – at BC alumni-led startups
As always, check out the buttons below to sign up for / view a directory of students and alumni who have opted in to join the Eagle Eye database.
Here’s the update…
🚀 Featured startups
🚌 Student startup: GiftPocket
GiftPocket is a mobile app designed to help people easily store, manage, use, and exchange their gift cards. The app turns physical gift cards digital and allows users to access all of their cards in one place. GiftPocket launched on the App Store in 2019 and the Google Play Store in 2020. The company and founder Brooke have received coverage from Bloomberg, CBS, TEDxColumbus, and more. http://www.giftpocket.com
Founder: Brooke Yoakam CSOM ‘24 (LinkedIn)
🎓 Alumni startup: Reconcile
Reconcile is a financial automation engine that streamlines money management in the digital economy. So instead of spending hours managing finances, we can now offload this work onto Reconcile’s intelligent, voice assistant in seconds. To learn more about Reconcile, check out the website @ getreconcile.com
Founder: Jaimin Desai CSOM ‘16 (LinkedIn)
⭐️ Featured people
🚌 Student: Will Tarini
Will is from Sudbury, MA and is studying Finance and Accounting. He's the current president of BC's Venture Capital / Private Equity Association (BC VCPE), which has over 300 members and 10 firm partnerships. Previously, Will worked as an Investment Banking Summer Analyst at Lazard, where he will be returning full-time after graduation. He has also held positions at The TJX Companies and Empower Success Corps. Besides his interest in the alternative investment space, he has a passion for entrepreneurship and start-ups. Throughout high school and college, Will started a number of endeavors such as Hire a Student (an app connecting students and homeowners for local tasks and jobs), TVR Landscaping, and Kids Serving Kids Boston (a non-profit dedicated to spreading the joy of tennis to underserved kids in the Boston area). Will hopes to explore the private equity space in the future while continuing to make a positive impact on the communities around him.
Will Tarini CSOM ‘21 (LinkedIn)
🎓 Alumni: Kelsey Renda
Kelsey is the Associate Director of Boston College’s Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship, where she has been running all things entrepreneurship at BC for the last six years. She currently advises a number of BC’s student organizations including the Women Innovators Network, Consultants for Social Impact, and Start@Shea. Kelsey also manages BC’s Entrepreneur in Residence and internship stipend programs, helps put together TechTrek courses, and mentors students with business ideas. Previously, Kelsey worked sales, media relations, and crisis communications roles at the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau and Cone Communications. At Boston College, Kelsey studied communications in undergrad and then went back for her MBA a few years later.
Kelsey Renda MCAS ‘12 & CSOM MBA ‘18 (LinkedIn)
❗️Updates
⏭ What’s happening this month (March)?
No classes for BC students on Wednesday, 3/3 (Spring Break)
Start@Shea: Accelerator program running with a dozen BC student startups
3/1 – 3/5: Start@Shea Virtual Tech & Entrepreneurship Fair
3/1: Women Innovators Network: Underclassmen Internship Panel
3/1: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Bill Clerico (WePay)
3/2: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Mark Faggiano (TaxJar)
3/5: Women Innovators Network: Women @ Work Discussion Group
3/6: MakeBC: Egg Drop Competition
3/8: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Brian Zitin (Regorra)
3/8: BC VCPE Amity Ventures Case Competition sourcing workshop
3/9: Women Innovators Network & Women’s Business League workshop
3/9: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Kelsey Bishop (Vanta)
3/10: MakeBC & ISA: Low-Code Workshop
3/10: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Zach Garippa (Negotiatus)
3/11: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: James Loftus (Square)
3/11: BC CS Society: React workshop
3/11: BC VCPE Amity Ventures Case Competition due diligence workshop
3/12: Women Innovators Network: Women @ Work Discussion Group
3/13: MakeBC: Arduino Workshop (Intro)
3/15: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Al Dea, Sydney Walker (Salesforce)
3/16: Women Innovators Network: Bank of America event
3/16: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: IronClad
3/18: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Andrew Oddo (SVB)
3/19: Women Innovators Network: Women @ Work Discussion Group
3/19: Women Innovators Network & PNC event
3/20: MakeBC: Arduino Workshop (Sensors)
3/22: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Sofie Miller (Google)
3/23: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Doug Mack (Fanatics)
3/25: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Carta
3/26: BC VCPE Amity Ventures Case Competition final round
3/27: MakeBC: Arduino Workshop
3/29: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: CJ McDonald (Step)
3/30: Start@Shea Zoom with an Entrepreneur: Jonah Lipton (Crayon.io)
🐝 What else is going on in BC’s tech community?
Start@Shea’s Virtual Tech & Entrepreneurship Fair: 40+ recruiters & founders (some are BC alumni) will be at Start@Shea’s virtual career fair this week holding info sessions and coffee chats – fantastic opportunity for BC students!
MakeBC is kickstarting a long term art & tech project (LED mechanical mirror) for the Boston College Arts Festival – stay tuned for more updates on this!
Any other BC tech news or asks? Please reach out: jack@jackmcclelland.com
💼 Featured jobs
Highlighted jobs at BC-founded startups
💡 Internships
DraftKings: Software Engineering Intern – Summer 2021 (Boston, MA)
Iterable: Engineering Intern, Data Science (San Francisco, CA)
Wonolo: Android Developer Intern, Summer 2021 (Toronto, Canada)
Wonolo: Test Automation Developer Intern, Summer 2021 (Toronto, Canada)
💸 Full-time
Darkroom: Software Engineer (Santa Monica, CA)
Sittercity: Software Engineering Manager (Chicago, IL)
Socure: Senior Engineering Manager, Data & ML Platform (NY or Remote)
TaxJar: DevOps Engineer (Remote)
Vibes: Senior Product Designer (Chicago, IL)
📚 Campus Organizations
BC on-campus tech and startup organizations:
Start@Shea – https://www.startatshea.com/
Women Innovators Network (WIN) – https://www.bcwin.org/
Boston College Computer Science Society (BCCSS) – https://bccss.io/
Women in Computer Science (WiCS) – https://www.instagram.com/wics_bc/
Girls Who Code (GWC) – https://www.instagram.com/girlswhocodebc/
Thanks for reading!
If you have any feedback, suggestions, or tips (startups, people, updates, or jobs to profile), please reach me at jack@jackmcclelland.com or (650) 863-8151.
This newsletter is written by Jack McClelland (CS + Finance @ BC MCAS ‘22).
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