When Edward Daciuk launched his first startup, a software company called Periscope, he and his business partner were a little surprised at how much two newcomers were able to accomplish. “We convinced KPMG to give us a check for $200,000 to get their software off the ground,” says Daciuk. “We were 25 or 26. We didn’t know what we were doing. We ended up selling our company. That got the startup bug in me.”
Now with the advent of the Internet, I don’t understand how I survived childhood. The ability to get information nowadays is so easy. Back when I was a kid, the only way to learn was to walk downtown to go get a book from the library.
After attending the prestigious Wharton School, Daciuk accepted a job at a boutique financial firm, but soon realized that he was “much more entrepreneurial than corporate.” That’s when he and a friend started Periscope. By the time he was in his 30s, he had gone on to build a messaging service platform called Pivot that’s used by major trading firms and hedge funds. “We raised 20 some million in venture capital and sold our business in about seven years,” he says. These days, the WeWork Soho West member’s main project is ExtensionEngine, an online education platform. He says he’s always looking for the “next big thing,” something he recalls loving when he was a kid. “My all-time favorite activity was Legos,” says Daciuk. “That’s part of why I like product strategy—the building of things, experimenting, and seeing them work.”
Photos: Emanuel Hahn