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Friday, April 3, 2009
Whiz Kids
Brilliant Geeks founder speaks language of IT services startups
By Lynette F. Cornell, Mass High Tech Intern
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Learning a new technology can feel like learning a new language. Kostian Iftica, the 20-year-old founder of IT help company Brilliant Geeks knows exactly what that’s like: Eight years ago, he arrived from Albania at the age of 12, not knowing a word of English.
Since then, he has started an IT service company that now has a customer base approaching 50 clients. (His services range from hardware upgrades to spyware cleanup, and even include PC training.)
Inspired by classes he took at TechBoston, a department of the Boston Public Schools that teaches students about advanced technology, he began the company in spring 2007. TechBoston’s director, Felicia Vargas, encouraged him to pursue an internship through TechBoston’s Tech Apprentice Program. At first, he was hesitant, unsure if he was skilled enough, but Vargas assured him that the purpose of the internship was to gain skills.
He was placed with New England Baptist Hospital, where he honed his technical skills by assisting in building servers to store digital medical records, developing communication software to connect the servers to the hospital, and troubleshooting the problems that the doctors encountered. The experience, he said, taught him how to communicate with people about technology. He learned how to explain complex systems in simple, understandable ways.
“From then on,” he said, “I had a little idea to start a business on the side.”
He runs Brilliant Geeks from his family’s home in Brighton, so there’s little overhead. He contracted a web-knowledgeable friend to design his website, but other than that, his only advertisement is word-of-mouth — and pens with his business information.
He travels to customers’ homes, saving them the hassle of bringing their computer to him. And for faraway assignments, he contracts two friends who live closer to those service calls.
When not managing his business, he attends classes at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where is he a sophomore majoring in management information systems. In his finance class, he analyzes other companies with similar business models, including Best Buy, Nerds To Go, and Staples Easy Tech.
While some companies like Circuit City have bitten the dust, his company is flourishing in a market that demands low-cost computer service.
“As a startup company, I’m still seeing growth,” he said. “(People) are always going to need computer support.”
Computer help isn’t the only service customers have sought from him. He recently deejayed at a birthday party for a 90-year-old woman, at the request of her son, a former computer customer of his. Despite having no previous experience, he said yes.
“I couldn’t say no, so I did it,” he said, laughing at the memory. “Whatever the customer needs, I’ll go for it.”
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