Zameer Upadhya (BACC ’02) and James Rivera (BACC ’01)
Area of study: Bachelor in Accounting
 Zameer Upadhya (BACC ’02) and James Rivera (BACC ’01) |
There to here: Combine a seven-year friendship, several commonalities, and an entrepreneurial spirit and you get the creation of an innovative niche social networking website named Babyspot.com.
Company: Babyspot.com is a social networking tool for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other loved ones to share pictures, videos, and other precious moments of their young with family and friends across the world.
Idea generation: Babyspot.com was created out of the need by Rivera to share information, pictures, and videos of his son and Upadhya of his nieces and nephews with family and friends without inundating their e-mail inboxes. Their passion for entrepreneurship and for their families led to the realization in December, 2006, that they should create a free, customizable, private web page where they could share pictures, videos, and blogs of their loved ones.
Commonalities: They met while working on their bachelor’s in accounting at FIU. Individually, they previously owned their own companies and worked for large companies. Rivera was the CEO for South Dade Wireless and an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers, while Upadhya was CEO for AMR Consulting Services, an auditor for BDO Seidman, LLP, and a financial analyst at Johnson & Johnson. They both worked at Advaion and had internships at Rachlin, Cohen & Holtz.
College’s influence: “An education in accounting helped me develop a hard working attitude and to think analytically. Attending school is a great opportunity to get involved and get real world experience,” Upadhya said. When he was the president of the FIU Accounting Association, he said he learned how to run a business, to manage people, and to sell.
Most challenging moment: Finding the right development team. The option to outsource is easy, Upadhya said, but he and Rivera wanted to find a strong team in Florida.
Most rewarding realization: “In life and in love, you have to find your soulmate; the same holds true with a business partner,” said Upadhya. He and Rivera are two friends with many common values, ones that have led to a successful business partnership, but Upadhya never imagined they would own a business together. Rivera always knew he wanted to own his own business because of his passion for innovation, while Upadhya wanted to be the president of Johnson and Johnson. Being open to change and impulses can lead to exciting opportunities, they both said.
Next step for Babyspot.com: Finalizing investment capital for the continual development of the site. The development team next will work on phase 3, which should be completed by December 31, 2007. It will include forums, biweekly newsletters, widgets and gadgets, and downloadable tool bars. A viral marketing campaign is scheduled to launch January 1, 2008.
Ensuring the success of Babyspot.com: Babyspot.com currently serves a niche market. Adults want to meet people with whom they have something in common.
