Investment firm founder goes social at Virginia Tech
Harjas Singh '15, who co-founded a user-friendly investment company during the pandemic, will give three public talks about entrepreneurship and making a career with a computer science degree.
Beer brewer. Bhangra dancer. Big shot business guy.
Harjas Singh, London-based co-founder of Shares.io, is on his way home to Virginia Tech in September for a series of talks and visits with faculty, students, and local entrepreneurs. The 2015 graduate of the Department of Computer Science will share how he has built a top-flight reputation as a tech entrepreneur who worked with big-name companies before helping found his own.
“My experience in CS@VT [computer science] was incredible. From the first lecture I attended, the emphasis given to collaborative, project-based work helped me understand how to solve complex technical problems alongside my peers,” Singh said. “There were also plenty of undergraduate research opportunities that allowed me to get experience on industry-based projects.”
Internship and co-op stints “got me in shape to enter the industry as a software engineer and then eventually evolve into a product manager,” he said.
Singh credits the award-winning Bhangra at Virginia Tech student dance troupe as a key part of his student life while at the university.
Harjas Singh highlights
- 2015 graduate of the Department of Computer Science
- Named 2023 Forbes’ 30 under 30 Europe Technology
- Co-founder of Shares, an investment platform valued at $200 million with the motto “Investment made social”
- Previously, an engineer at Deutsche Bank, where he helped modernize the company’s technology
- Former product owner in the Wealth and Trading Department of Revolut.
Giving back
While in Blacksburg, Singh will meet with students, faculty, and regional entrepreneurs on a two-day campus tour to share insights from his career since graduation. The media and the public are welcome to attend.
Thursday, Sept. 7
- 3:30 p.m., Suite 2018, 1880 Pratt Drive. Singh’s talk on fundraising for entrepreneurs will be part of Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council’s Game Changer Week technology conference.
- 7 p.m., 130 Hahn Hall North, 900 W. Campus Drive. Singh will speak to the student-led Computer Science Careers @ VT organization. Alumni can register to attend virtually.
Friday, Sept. 8
- 2:30 p.m., 2150 Torgersen Hall, 620 Drillfield Drive. Singh will give a keynote address to CS/Root, a computer science entrepreneurship hub serving Virginia Tech and Virginia's Region Two under a Go Virginia grant.
Computer science drives the future
- Singh will return to a thriving department that has about 1,600 undergraduates enrolled this fall, making it among the largest academic departments at the university and where students and researchers are involved in a wide range of grant-funded transdisciplinary research.
- Computer science graduates enter a robust job market. In the U.S. alone, computer and information technology occupations are projected to grow by 15 percent over the next decade — faster than the average for all other occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Those grads will outearn many peers in other disciplines. The median annual salary of computer and informational technology workers is nearly $100,000. For all other occupations, it’s less than $50,000.
