Irma Olguin Jr.
Co-Founder & CEO
Bitwise Industries
Fresno, CA USA
“If we really want to change things, we shouldn’t wait for accidents to happen. We can be more deliberate about who gets the opportunity to be in these positions.”
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By Roadtrip NationIrma Olguin Jr.
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I come from a family of farm laborers who immigrated to California to follow the farm and food industry.
Because of my family’s background, I didn’t think that college was for me—however, a series of serendipitous moments led to me going away to college and majoring in computer science.
While in college, I started building websites for clients, which was my first taste of entrepreneurship.
After five years, I graduated college into a high-growth, high-demand career industry.
I realized that technology was radically changing the world and I wanted to bring that back to my hometown, so I moved back to Fresno, California.
After returning to Fresno, I created 59DaysOfCode, which was a competition that encouraged and highlighted the tech industry in California’s Central Valley.
A year later, I co-founded Hashtag Fresno and then Edit LLC with the goal of solving data and efficiency problems in the agriculture industry.
I co-founded Bitwise Industries to strengthen Fresno’s tech industry and use it as an economic driver to elevate the city in that space—I currently manage the company as the CEO.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Co-Founder & CEO
I design the overall strategy and vision for the company.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Entrepreneurship
Accomplishing Goals
Day to Day
I oversee the company’s operations teams, tech-focused training program, and software development firm. Ensuring the company's fidelity to mission, strategy, and long-term goals is also a primary component of my role as CEO.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
When you're new to an industry and trying to gain traction, learn how to follow-up in a professional way in order to keep your name at the top of others' minds. "Follow-up" is like a hidden business hack. It doesn't mean sending multiple emails to someone every day. It means liking photos on Instagram, passing an interesting article along to someone, commenting on a leader's post on LinkedIn, etc. Those actions go a long way.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"Opportunity is for other people, not me."
Challenges I Overcame
First-Generation College Student
School Stress
LGBT
