MS 2007
Engineering Manager, Braintree
After graduation, Brent joined a startup in San Francisco building a clearinghouse for relational data sets and data streams. The company didn't succeed, but he made some lasting friends. In 2009, he helped start a tangible user interface company, Sifteo, with other Media Lab alumni. Brent wrote much of the initial software and helped hire out the team.
Then, in 2011, Brent helped launch a mobile payments + computer vision startup called card.io, which was acquired by PayPal in 2012. After joining PayPal, he helped design, write, and launch some key mobile payments products. Then, in 2014, he joined Braintree after it was acquired by PayPal. Since joining Braintree, Brent has been leading an organization that builds developer and growth payments products. They are currently processing 1B transactions per quarter.
How did your experience at the Lab influence your next step?
It didn't really help with my next move specifically. I wanted to work on web and data stuff, and the lab at the time really wasn't as connected to that part of tech. But my friends and connections from the lab were very helpful as my career progressed.
Take full advantage of your time at the lab by trying new things you're curious about and getting to know your colleagues.