Cool Jobs: Young Tech Entrepreneur Talks Balancing 9-to-5 With Side Hustles

Who do you look up to for mentorship or sponsorship in your industry?

I’ve never really had a go-to mentor. I just follow certain people in the tech industry. Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO) and Paul Graham (Y-Combinator CEO)—their zeal for success inspires me. I follow these tech leaders judiciously. I read about them, and I’m thrilled at the convictions they have to do more though they are already billionaires.

What’s the most fulfilling part about being a tech entrepreneur?

It’s the value your tech. business is giving to people, the lives your services has bettered and the money it has generated.

What motivated you to start your Web enterprises?

Need. Every time a friend came to me with a need, I’d always think of the best, monetized way to solve it. While solving it, I ask myself these questions: Are there other people out there who are having the same problem? Are there any solutions that will solve the problem? If yes, can I add value to these solutions?

For example, I have this friend who lives in a 2-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y. His company was sending him to Texas for an 8-week certification course. He called me to ask if I knew anyone wbo was looking for a room to rent to help him cover the expenses and manage his apartment while he was away. I didn’t know anyone, however, I told him I’d inquire.

We tried many rent listing sites out there and found no viable roommate. He had end up leaving for Texas without finding one. This problem spurred a thought in me: Why not set up a Website loaded with a database of renters in the U.S? This Website will give anyone who wants to rent his apartment a chance to find tenants in minutes. After months of planning, Rentish.com was launched with a database of 1.5 million renters in USA and the list grows each day.

The same story goes for JobClickr.com. My friends know that I’m a recruiter by day. Whenever they’re relocating to another state or country, they’d always ask for the best Websites to search for jobs. I got so tired of saying Google it or ‘I don’t know’ that I decided to build a global search engine for employment opportunities, providing a resource for finding work in any country or state you’re traveling to.

What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received specifically related to hard work and success?

Hard work pays, but smart working pays more. Think hard and work smart. Success is achieved at every stage in life.