🐟 Issue #14: Big Fish in Small Ponds
All about Massachusetts' small, but mighty entrepreneurship ecosystem for Claremont alumni
💬 Welcome to issue #14 of Between the Lines
The days are cooler and we’re starting to get some rain here in Portland, which is welcomed. Autumn, it’s nice to see you, and man, between all these weddings and bachelor parties this season, there is a lot of dancing that is happening in September. 🍁 Per usual, we have a stacked issue this week for your reading pleasure all about Claremont entrepreneurship, and if you’re around the colleges for CMC’s Impact Weekend, give me a holler. Also, a reminder to sign up for our talent network on our Storyboard if you haven’t already!
My Best, Miles
📊 6th Street Stats: Massachusetts’s Entrepreneurship - Small, but Mighty
Authors: Josh Tatum
“The Claremont Colleges? That’s so great! No, I’ve never heard of them. Is that a community college?”
I’m guessing some of our readers have heard this or a similar phrase at some point in their lives if they attended one of the Claremont Colleges. I know I have. I landed in Ontario Airport from the farmlands of the Midwest, and almost no one from home had heard of Claremont. Despite consistently placing in the top ten rankings over the past couple of decades (cause that’s what matters, right? 🤷♂️), the schools still fly under the radar — especially outside of California. For a long time, Claremont has truly been one of the best-kept secrets. The wild success of the Claremont Alumni in technology and entrepreneurship, however, is becoming hard to keep hushed!
Nevertheless, if you are a Claremont Colleges alumnus, the term “Small, but Mighty” may strike a chord. We share a similar college experience in that regard — the Claremont Colleges may be less well-known than schools like the Ivy’s, but nobody can question the outstanding nature of the Claremont college experience. Although they may be small in student enrollment, the Claremont Colleges are anything but small in quality. Clearly, I have a lot to say about the phrase ‘Small, but Mighty.’ I swear it isn’t a Napoleon complex, though. But now that we have that out of the way, let me introduce you to the epitome of small and mighty — Massachusetts.
If I asked you to guess the most successful city or state in the U.S. for Claremont College’s founders and startups, my guess is that Boston, Massachusetts would not be particularly high on your list. Not only is Massachusetts the 6th smallest state in the U.S. by square miles, but it also should seemingly be worlds behind states like Washington, Texas, and Colorado that boast leading technology hubs like Seattle, Austin, and Boulder. Additionally, the city of Boston is located over 3K+ miles from the Claremont Consortium, over 43 hours by car! 🚗 Yet, despite being the 6th ranked state in the U.S. by the number of Claremont-founded companies, Massachusett companies massively outperform. Let’s dig in - read the full article below 👇
🚨Claremonster Call-Out: Asher Weiss
A new Claremonster has joined the ranks of Claremont founders and leaders - Asher Weiss (CMC)! After spending almost two years leading Mobile Product Management for the Golden State Warriors and over a year for the Orlando Magic, Asher is leaving to start something new. He’s starting the new future of ticketing for venues with blockchain technology - Tixologi. With Tixologi you can customize experiences for fans, unlock significant revenue resources, own the relationship with ticketholders even as tickets are re-sold, and provide security for your venue.
For my next adventure, I’m excited to announce the launch of Tixologi. Tixologi is a blockchain-based ticketing platform, putting venues, teams and event producers in control of their own ticketing.
Please check out our website, and if you’re running an event, reach out to learn how we can help you revolutionize your ticketing!
💼 Who’s Hiring?:
Papaya is an LA-based startup building technology to automate bill payments for everyday people. They make it easy to pay any bill with a mobile phone and the snap of a picture. Papaya has processed bills for more than 50,000 merchants the last three years, and they have bold plans for 2021 and beyond. Josh Mittler (CMC) recently joined the Bizops from Upfront Ventures and is helping in strategic projects across the company. He's still waiting to get ponded #summerbirthdays. Explore their openings and reach out to Josh directly here if you’re interested in learning more:
Accounting Manager (Remote or LA) - experienced accounting professional with CPA, first accounting hire to lead accounting processes, annual audit preparation, and help build out the finance function
Director, People (Los Angeles) - experienced people leader to manage and build out People & Talent teams, build out the Papaya team and its impact-driven culture
Director, Product Management (Remote or LA) - experienced product leader that will help build out the product team, ship world-class mobile UX, and supercharge engagement and retention by centering on users
Agni, Co-Founded by CMC grad Miriam Cruz, is a food healing company that crafts cookies, teas, and seasonings to support women's health. All products are made with 100% real, whole ingredients and are free of gluten, soy, dairy, and anything processed to provide maximum healing benefits for the body. They are looking for their new teammate: a Senior Marketing Manager! If you love to manage product launches / e-comm optimization/marketing campaigns / and then some and want to get in on the ground floor with a company that is revolutionizing women’s health... check this out:
Peteris Liepins (CMC) is continuing to build out the Fraud Team at Stripe, which he leads. He’s looking to hire a manager to lead Stripe’s Transaction Fraud Pillar. In this role, you'd get to lead a team of talented strategists working to improve their core systems and reduce fraud rates for their massive network of users:
Check out all the other 5,000+ open jobs at 400+ Claremont-founded companies here on our Storyboard!
Sign up for free to the talent network to start getting updated on jobs/companies in your interest cluster
Check out the 30+ part-time roles and over 750 remote jobs available
180+ open internships at companies like Cruise, Cisco, & Samba TV
As always, if any of these roles catch your eye 👀 , apply and mention Between the Lines! Or if you are an employer and are looking to hire top Claremont talent, fill out this form to have your jobs featured!
🗣️ Conversations on the interwebz:
by Josh Tatum
This week’s top read (watch) 🔥
Running out of Fall Hallmark movies to watch? Check out CMC founder of Optimist, Chris Temple’s, newest feature documentary on U.S. Immigration airing on PBS 🎥
Everything else you need to know….📖
Congrats to CMC for ranking #1 for free expression, according to the 2021 Campus Free Speech Rankings! 🏆
Couldn’t agree more! Maya Horgan Famodu (Founder of Ingressive Capital) dropping some beautiful wisdom on the importance and power of community 👥
Can’t get enough Between the Lines? Follow and connect with us on Twitter!
🤤 BTL Snacks:
You may not be able to get your favorites snacks at the Claremont dining halls anymore on the weekdays, but hopefully, these juicy tidbits from BTL will satisfy the hunger for now! 🍽️
💡 Fintech Summer camp? Can alumni come?….. A huge congrats to Professor Imerman (CGU) and Professor Dass (CMC) for starting up a co-curricular FinTech Initiative for students
👶 The new and improved childcare service for today’s working parents….. Shadiah Sigala (PO) and Kinside are helping all families and kids receive access to high-quality care
💼 Need some expert career advice for the next step?….. Mollie Mueller (CMC) at Crew talks about how to use design thinking to better understand your strengths and interests
📺 Did you miss the Emmy Awards live?….. Read about Ashwin Navin (CMC) and Samba TV’s in-depth look at not only who watched the awards, but how they watched
Feedback? We love to hear it. Hit us with an email. 👊🏼