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Discover who’s who in the tech startup industry with Founders Networks Founder Profiles. Each profile covers one of our founders, their startup vision, achievements and current focus. Gain key insights about their most valuable lessons learned, greatest mentors and tips for staying motivated.
Amir Tarighat, Co-founder and CEO of Equametrics
Name:
Amir Tarighat
Member Cohort:
March 2012
Location:
New York, NY
Education:
Economics, Harvard University
Management, London School of Economics & Political Science, University of London (In Progress)
Prior Experience:
- Finance and Financial Technology
- Software/Web Application Development
- Corporate Strategy
Current Startup:
EquaMetrics: a financial software and systems developer that specializes in the application of cutting-edge technologies.
Mission:
To change the way people think about trading and make discretionary trading habits safer and more profitable by designing an SaaS platform that allows smaller firms and individuals to leverage complex mathematics, programming knowledge, and IT infrastructure.
Milestones:
- Formed founding team
- Raised $1.5m series A from super angels
- Hired staff of 10 people with phd/grad degrees to from top Universities
- Entering product test phase
- Received first buyout offer from a large financial firm
Current Focus:
- Finish building product and testing it
- Seeking partnerships with financial firms
- Determining launch date
Lessons Learned:
“Always ask for help and listen when people give advice on how to do things.”
Staying Motivated:
“Most important thing to stay motivated is being able to focus your vision, defining it as narrowly as possible, and making sure everything you do on a daily basis helps support that vision. Will doing what I’m doing now help fulfill that vision? If not, rethink what you’re doing. I try to follow that with everything I do. One of the biggest problems I see in the world is the waste of resources. Really smart people are working on stuff that doesn’t matter that much to them. Remind yourself that what you do really matters. If you truly believe that, it will keep you motivated all the time.”
Biggest Mentor:
“I have two: David Beatty Golden Seeds Funds LP and Ali Riaz, CEO and co-founder of Attivio. David has been an integral part in multiple startups, has had successful exits, and has helped me immensely with the nitty gritty aspects of business, such as how to manage board, legal, and operational issues. He’s given me so much good advice and is so great because he’s so tough. He’s not afraid to tell you what he thinks, and literally evaluates every piece of information I share with him. Ali has been a great inspiration for leadership, knows so much about technology, and has helped advise me on how to deal with bigger companies. Ali was the originally at Fast Search and Transfer, which was bought by MSFT for $1.2B and was the central IP used for Bing.”
Peer Mentorship:
“Peer mentorship is really important because you get a completely different perspective from people who are in similar positions as you. Some of the best advice I’ve received has come from the most random places. A person doesn’t have to be 30 year veteran to give good advice. Being able to look at things from a fresh perspective is just as helpful.”
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