Tech Entreprenuer Advises San Francisco Students To Start Innovating And Building
When David Gorodyansky was just 23 years old, he launched a Silicon Valley company that has gone on to be the global leader in consumer security, privacy and internet freedom. That company is Anchor Free, whose app has more than 300 million downloads to date. Here is a look into a young man who has been named one of America's most promising CEOs under 35.
What is your background and education?
"I am an entrepreneur focused on solving global challenges. I started AnchorFree when I was 23 and launched Hotspot Shield to provide secure access to the world's information for every person on the planet; it's become the world's largest Internet freedom, security and privacy application with over 300 million downloads to date. I attended San Jose State University School of Business, but throughout my studies on the theories of business, I was more focused on actually building AnchorFree and our product to enable the next billion Internet users to stay in control online."
What is your outlook on the business and information security industries in San Francisco for jobs?
"The IT industry is booming globally, in San Francisco particularly, but also in other less obvious places. We're seeing a lot of new tech start-ups in London, Berlin, New York and Moscow. The world has really embraced the internet and has accepted it into every aspect of our lives from how we learn to how we are governed. There is a real shortage of tech talent and huge competition between AnchorFree, Google, Facebook, Dropbox, Twitter and others for great engineers. Anybody getting an engineering degree right now has a world of opportunity in front of them."
What career advice can you offer to students related to getting an education?
"I encourage students to not think about their career, but to think about how they will use their dreams, energy and youth to impact the world, turn huge dreams into reality, take enormous risks, and spend time on what actually matters to the world."
"My advice is start innovating and building. Think big about global challenges and how you can address them. Think wide - beyond just yourself - about the seven billion citizens of the planet and what positive impact you can make on them. Live to make a difference. Make real impact. Remain naïve."
Randy Yagi is a freelance writer covering all things San Francisco. In 2012, he was awarded a Media Fellowship from Stanford University. His work can be found on Examiner.com Examiner.com.
