BSc Computer Science, 2013 

Current role - Co-Chief Executive and Co-founder of DashHound

 

About me:

I graduated from the University of Liverpool in July 2013 having completed a Bachelors of Science degree: Computer Science. Studying Computer Science at Liverpool was great. The department provided ample opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities, that would further enhance our employability following graduation. For instance, I was lucky enough to get an EPSRC funded research place in the Algorithms and Optimisation group at the University during the summer, following my second year of study. This additional interaction with industry ensured my research had a practical as well as theoretical aspects. By the time I had graduated I’d learnt about a whole variety of technologies, developed sound research skills, gained experience working with others, and much more. All this, in a passionate, historic city with so much on offer to strike a solid work/life balance. I really do miss Liverpool.

Since graduating I have found myself in a variety of roles. My first job was actually developing cutting edge technology, working for the University in collaboration with a Liverpool based startup, Bluprint Global. From there, I worked in an engineering role in the Finance industry in London, before realising my dream and moving to San Francisco. I’ve always been drawn to startups and entrepreneurship and the skills I developed while at Liverpool have significantly helped me in performing in that kind of environment.

I now find myself running my own tech startup, DashHound, where we are using data science to help people make better-informed purchase decisions. We automatically track what products a person’s favourite Social Media influencers are using and are able to provide the user with a unique, social shopping experience. Starting a business is incredibly hard, there are late nights and working weekends. My current working day mostly involves hacking on some coding problem but often includes developing business plans, financial modelling, social media marketing, and managing business relationships. Pretty much anything and everything. I even found myself flying over to the U.S to pitch my company, live on stage, in front of over 200 people.

My career advice for anyone soon to graduate is to just go for it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are not good enough. Dream big and have the drive and ambition that gets you where you want to be. For any women due to graduate with a degree in Computer Science - if you are remotely considering a career in tech, don’t let recent media reports put you off. There is a place for you in tech, be bold and speak up against anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Anyone interested in participating in the Silicon Valley Internship Program or anyone with questions that they think I may be able to answer, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter - @digitisedlipstk.