Welcome
I use this blog to provide professional updates, write about my interests (currently: software and search funds) and share content that I find interesting.
Biography
I am studying for an MBA at Columbia Business School. Prior to business school, I worked as a software engineer in domains ranging from embedded systems to mobile app development. More recently, I’ve taken an interest in the world of entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA). My hope is to integrate my past experience in software development with the world of ETA to help grow a software or tech-enabled services firm to its fullest potential.
Work Experience
Most of my work experience occurred at two contractors with vastly different scales and cultures. My first job out of college at Raytheon involved a lot of programming within a very systematic environment. I was able to pick up skills in systems development, the basics of working on large projects and understand the effect clients have on the culture within the firm.
At The Routing Company, I got into a much more startup-like environment where I was expected to be much more entrpereneurial about driving my projects forward. Because The Routing Company was new, there was lots of open space for development of new internal tooling and customer-facing products. This make The Routing Company a great place to learn and also test my abilities as a software engineer.
Prior to business school, I worked at a crypto fintech startup called Swivel Finance (now defunct). I took the role at Swivel because it immediately introduced me to technical leadership and product management opportunities. In the role, I was able to oversee the launch of new products, pace the workload of entire projects and get a holisitc view of the entire development process.
Summarizing
Overall, I have been fortunate to have a varied career in software engineering to this point. It has ranged in industry, size and culture of firm, programming environment, and responsibilities. I have learned about the importance of sound technical skills in coding while also understanding the importance of soft skills in building tacit knowledge and chemistry between team members. These experiences have made much more interested in learning about the highest leverage ways to put those skills to work, which is why I find myself in the position I am now, looking for the best possible projects to work on and company to grow.
Search Details
Why Software?
First, my skillset lies in the field of software engineering. As a result, a lot of my experience comes from working on software teams and understanding the challenges they face. Given that, I am able to understand the operational challenges a business faces more effectively when the business is deal with software or IT problems. Furthermore, by working in software, I will be able to understand how to grow the team and foster talent development, two tasks that are critical for any business to succeed.
Second, much ink has been spilled about “software eating the world” and the “fourth industrial revolution”. Software, as we know it, has only been around for a fraction of human history, and many firms are slow to adopt the benefits of information age technology. As a result, there are many opportunities, lying in dormant, that deserve to be examined and require an unconventional approach to uncovering them. I aim to play a part in finding, creating and capturing that value.
Why search for an existing business?
Joining an existing business is very similar to searching for a job. In many ways, this could be thought of as choosing to apply for a position at a small business that does not already exist. Second, searching is a high leverage, energy intensive task that is under utilized. At the margin, it makes sense to search for more optimal working environments where one can create and capture the most value. Given that I have the opportunity now to do so, it makes sense to pursue this while the option is open.
Between the wide variety of opportunities in software, the leverage from taking time to search and my technical skillset, I believe that it makes sense for me to pursue this route and partner with the right company to assist in growing it to its full potential.
Please reach out to me if you have any comments or questions at smarathe25@gsb.columbia.edu.