Team Bios

The three founders went to Carnegie Mellon University with one goal in mind: to acquire the resources needed to start a high growth business. Rodrigo and Lukas met at the Tepper Entrepreneurship Bootcamp and decided to work together shortly after classes started. They had many businesses ideas in mind but from previous experience, they knew that the team was more important than the initial idea, so they chose to go after a third business partner with the following characteristics: Self-motivated, enthusiastic, intelligent, entrepreneurial, with aligned goals, and with outstanding programming skills and experience. They interviewed nine graduate Computer Science students and selected Francisco because of his exceptional programming skills, positive attitude, and passion for entrepreneurship.

Rodrigo Carvalho

Rodrigo Carvalho (CEO) brings with him expertise in IT systems, E-commerce, Project Management, Client Relationship and previous entrepreneurial experience. Rodrigo holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and is currently pursuing his MBA at Carnegie Mellon University – Tepper School of Business – where he is part of the entrepreneurship track and a member of the Swartz Entrepreneurial fellows program. Prior to joining Tepper, Rodrigo worked as a process improvement engineer for 1.5 years and as an IT consultant at IBM for 3 years. While working for IBM he started two companies, one of which, he still manages (Bddogs.com a niche canine web store). This venture has given him invaluable insights into the market that BlackLocus is entering. Rodrigo was born in Brazil and moved to New York at the age of 16. He is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English.

Lukas Bouvrie

Lukas Bouvrie (CMO) brings with him expertise in Sales, Client Engagement, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Alaska with a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Technology and is currently pursuing his MBA at Carnegie Mellon University- Tepper School of Business where he is a member of the entrepreneurship track as well as the Swartz Entrepreneurial fellows program. Prior to joining Tepper, Lukas founded and managed an arts promotion company in Alaska. He is also an adventurer in nature. In his free time, he climbs intimidating ice mountains, skis the most dangerous virgin slopes, and flies bush planes. Always with a positive attitude, he keeps the team united and gets things done at a motivating pace.

Francisco Uribe

Francisco Uribe (CTO) brings with him expertise in Computer Programming (all languages), Project Management, and Entrepreneurship. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Chile, and is currently pursuing a Master of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Francisco started programming at the age of 10 and has never let up. Before moving to the United States, Francisco founded Loudwords.cl, an online social networking tool with a philanthropic platform. Loudwords raised an equivalent of US$300,000 of seed funding and reached a user base of over 70,000. His former business partners are currently managing the company.

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