Spotlights
Spotlight: Christopher David Cera
Your brief bio: Chris began his professional career as a software developer and later co-founded Vuzit, a software company that provides an online document sharing, control, and analytics platform. Chris also played a significant role in the co-founding of Philly Startup Leaders, the largest and most active community of startup entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia region. Prior to co-founding Vuzit, Chris managed all R&D, customer relationships, and IT operations at another startup, Drakontas. Previously Chris was employed at Traffic.com, where he co-developed the first real-time 3D traffic reporting system used by FOX, ABC, CBS, and NBC at over 70 TV stations in the top 25 US markets. Chris has also held development positions at GlaxoSmithKline, submitted 6 patent applications, and published over 15 peer-reviewed publications. Chris holds a B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from Drexel University.
Firm/company: Vuzit
Occupation:
CTO
Current Location: West Philadelphia
Hometown: Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
Favorite Philadelphia neighborhood: West Philadelphia. I think West Philadelphia was more of a suburb 100 years ago, and has some impressive architecture. It feels like a neighborhood, is relatively cheap to live, and public transportation to center city is very efficient in most parts (especially the underground trolleys).
Best advice you've ever been given: It was something like "People make their own decisions, so get over it, and start focusing on yours."
Your favorite thing about living in the Philadelphia Region: My work and lifestyle are tightly coupled, and I've been able to meet so many people here that are the same way. It's humbling to thrive in the same place as our country's founders, and fun to imagine them walking the same streets, living in the same homes, and trying to build something bigger than themselves. Philadelphia is also extremely diverse, so you will find that its people, arts, entertainment, and food are composed from all over the world.
Your favorite thing about working in the Philadelphia Region: The technology and entrepreneurial communities here are booming, and so being at the intersection of it is very exciting. Philadelphia is on a major upswing, it's craving for the next generation of leaders that will take it to the next level, and the community is already here to embrace them.
How would you market the Philadelphia Region to professionals outside the region? I would focus on the overall quality of life, personal and professional, afforded by being in the city. You can find great places to work and live, and you don't have to be confined to a tiny apartment. I've found that many people who commute into, or out of, the city tend to be less enthusiastic about the overall experience.
What advice would you give to young professionals trying to break into your industry? Find others that are doing something that resembles what you would like to do, and ask them for advice. You will be amazed how many people will respond to a simple email that just says "Hi, I'm Chris and I'm trying to start [something], can I buy you a coffee sometime next week?" Pick 3, 5, or 10 people, and aim as high as you can because you have nothing to lose.
How has the entrepreneurial community in Philadelphia evolved in the past ten years? I think technology generally has made it easier for people to find one another, and the Philadelphia region already had the right people (they just needed to know where to go). So many people have said to me that if a community like Philly Startup Leaders had existed [some number of] years ago, then there life would have turned out differently. The entrepreneurial and technology communities here are booming, and possibly more so than since our country was founded here. I get the sense that there have been many disjoint and thriving entrepreneurial communities here, but they tend to be fairly closed.
Description of your business/company: Vuzit helps you share and control your important documents online. Vuzit's flagship product, the Vuzit DocuPub Platform, improves online access to important documents, images and other sensitive content; control over how such documents are viewed; and produces insights into who is reading them and when. We help companies who are looking to protect intellectual property, safely sell documents online, process documents faster, and improve website usability. Vuzit has customers from America to Australia and its technology is embedded into over 1000 websites and web applications. Vuzit is located in Philadelphia and on the web at Vuzit.com.