Spotlight on Young Entrepreneurs: AJ Cihla

Spotlight on Young Entrepreneurs: AJ Chila
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AJ Cihla

AJ Cihla studied Computer Science (CS) at the University of California, Berkeley. This major, especially a top school like Berkeley, has a reputation for being grueling. Reflecting on his time in college, AJ said that 10 hour days of coding quickly left him “feeling drained and wanting.” Looking for new experiences, he stepped into product management, which gave him a “good taste of what it’s like to act as the connector between multiple internal teams, customers, and other stakeholders.” He created Jargon - a startup that became so successful that it was bought by Smartling (a large New York based software company) this past year.

Jargon Company Logo

Jargon Company Logo

AJ Cihla
“Computer Science, in my mind, was the only toolset that would allow me to move from graduation to startup founder in a matter of months. That is why I stuck with the major and have continued to keep up on my skills. Knowing how to code means you don’t have to rely on other factors to get rolling. You don’t need funds (at least not much), you don’t need to hire out your initial work, you can move as fast or as slow as you’d like, and you can earn a very valuable understanding and respect for your own product and for other technologies that you are interfacing with.”

But AJ’s coding skills did not come easily. “Berkeley is a meat grinder,” he said. “It is highly competitive academically, which I think can hurt entrepreneurial spirits that aren’t looking to go deep academically.” That’s not surprising. Berkeley was recently ranked as the best public university in the country, with their Computer Science program coming in 4th, as per U.S. News and World Report. “However, you won’t find a better pool of smart people and thoughtful dialog to incubate ideas and produce amazing friendships. It was friendship that ultimately allowed myself and other co-founders to start Jargon (one co-founder was my fraternity brother). I am immensely proud of my school and the raw talent and genius that it produces on a regular basis.”

The most exciting experience that AJ had was when he quit his job and packed up a car with a fellow co-founder to move to Seattle for a program called Techstars. (Techstars helps accelerate the growth of budding startups). “There is a refreshing quality to taking a plunge like that,” AJ remarked about the major transition.

Here’s his advice for prospective young entrepreneurs:

“Learn Computer Science. And not just by taking a class - go build something. Then build it better. Get close to an industry and recognize flaws and solutions for those issues. Ideas don’t come out of thin air. They’re influenced by your surroundings...so get surrounded by people, problems, and technology to keep your mind in “scan mode” for the next big thing.”

Finally I asked, “Do you want to continue as an entrepreneur?”

His response?

“ABSOLUTELY.”

Thank you to AJ Cihla for taking the time to speak with me. I wish him the best of luck!

Check out my other posts in this series:

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