The DLTS is a profiling of the most influential people in Chicago's digital technology community.

I wish I knew from the beginning...

Success in entrepreneurship is all about relating to people – customers, coworkers, investors, acquirers. I can attribute the majority of failures I’ve had in my career to my inability to understand or empathize with another person. Similarly, my biggest successes in entrepreneurship have resulted from a relationship I’ve built with someone or an insight I had about what motivated him. While I probably wouldn’t trade in my math degree for a psychology degree, I’d have spent a lot more time reading about the human mind and interpersonal skills and a lot more time thinking about the people involved in my companies.

The best advice I ever received...

My first computer science professor, Margo Seltzer, encouraged me not only to continue taking computer science classes but also to apply for a position as a teaching fellow in her class the following year. Doing those two things radically changed the course of my college career and developed some of the critical skills I needed to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Stathat is a startup everyone should know about.