Bursting The Bubble: Tech Adventures of Eric Shapiro ’86 Spur New Fund
From his first days at Rivers, technology played a huge role in the education of Eric Shapiro ’86. He arrived in the seventh grade right at the beginning of the personal computer revolution. Up until then, Rivers had just one Hewlett-Packard mini-computer hidden away in the basement for a few adventurous students. In the ensuing years that all changed, as the school started purchasing computers, including an Apple and a few black-and-white TRS-80s. By the time Shapiro graduated, there was a fully-equipped lab.
“It was perfect timing for me to get into the field and learn about computer programming,” he says.
Shapiro was the first Rivers student to take the AP exam in computer science; he had to create his own independent study project because the technology was too new for faculty to know anything about it. At 13, he created a flashcard program for learning vocab. It proved so popular at Rivers that he decided to form a company and promote the software nationally, buying an ad in PC Magazine and eventually selling over 500 copies. He even helped classmate Larry Glazer ’86 start a business that sold floppy disks and fan-fold perforated printer paper to classmates.
“I knew since starting my company at Rivers that I was going to be an entrepreneur in the computer industry,” Shapiro says.
As an adult Shapiro has founded and headed three successful computer companies. With Zero G Software, he built the popular PC program InstallAnywhere; then at Caustic Graphics, he led the development of breakthrough “ray-tracing” technology used by movie studios like Pixar and Lucasfilm to create realistic-looking computer graphics and special effects. Shapiro’s most recent venture is ArcTouch, a 30-person mobile app development studio that designs apps for companies like HarperCollins and Sony, and even built the official Star Trek app for the iPad.
Shapiro enjoys the freedom of being his own boss, often working from his home in San Francisco or his summer home in Cape Cod. He gets to dig into new projects every day and has quickly turned a profit with his self-funded business.
“The media makes it seem like you just have to come up with one big idea like Facebook to strike it rich,” he says, “but the reality is that most startups go out of business, and only about 30 percent even make their money back.”
To thrive, Shapiro says, it takes an entrepreneur who is “dynamic and willing to change direction.” He started ArcTouch thinking it would produce original apps for consumers, but recognized with the shifting markets that he’d be more successful building apps for companies. His dual degrees in computer science (Tufts ’90) and business (Cornell ’95) give him the ability to knock elbows with business leaders while still writing code and earning the respect of his company’s programmers.
Shapiro has a long lineage of familial entrepreneurship – his dad founded a company that created technology for a Google Maps-like program back in the pre-Internet early ’80s, while his grandfather and great grandfather each created companies that became among the world’s largest manufacturers of plastics and ice cream cones, respectively.
While it was his father who first spurred him to advertise his flashcard program, Shapiro says the Rivers community was also very encouraging of his unconventional projects.
“Of all the institutions I’ve been part of, Rivers is the one that has most shaped who I am,” he says. “The teachers there served as positive reinforcement for me to really explore my interests.”
This past winter he founded the Eric N. Shapiro ’86 Technology Fund to help fund cutting-edge technology for Rivers classrooms. He contributed additional funds this year to purchase 20 new iPads for Rivers’ language department, to allow students to access international newspapers and streaming video, and have direct contact with students from around the world.
“I see these iPads as another tool that increases our ability to research and use web-based resources,” says language department head Cathy Favreau. “We are extremely excited for students to take advantage of these technologies as educational platforms.”
Shapiro enjoys the freedom of being his own boss, often working from his home in San Francisco or his summer home in Cape Cod. He gets to dig into new projects every day and has quickly turned a profit with his self-funded business.
“The media makes it seem like you just have to come up with one big idea like Facebook to strike it rich,” he says, “but the reality is that most startups go out of business, and only about 30 percent even make their money back.”
To thrive, Shapiro says, it takes an entrepreneur who is “dynamic and willing to change direction.” He started ArcTouch thinking it would produce original apps for consumers, but recognized with the shifting markets that he’d be more successful building apps for companies. His dual degrees in computer science (Tufts ’90) and business (Cornell ’95) give him the ability to knock elbows with business leaders while still writing code and earning the respect of his company’s programmers.
Shapiro has a long lineage of familial entrepreneurship – his dad founded a company that created technology for a Google Maps-like program back in the pre-Internet early ’80s, while his grandfather and great grandfather each created companies that became among the world’s largest manufacturers of plastics and ice cream cones, respectively.
While it was his father who first spurred him to advertise his flashcard program, Shapiro says the Rivers community was also very encouraging of his unconventional projects.
“Of all the institutions I’ve been part of, Rivers is the one that has most shaped who I am,” he says. “The teachers there served as positive reinforcement for me to really explore my interests.”
This past winter he founded the Eric N. Shapiro ’86 Technology Fund to help fund cutting-edge technology for Rivers classrooms. He contributed additional funds this year to purchase 20 new iPads for Rivers’ language department, to allow students to access international newspapers and streaming video, and have direct contact with students from around the world.
“I see these iPads as another tool that increases our ability to research and use web-based resources,” says language department head Cathy Favreau. “We are extremely excited for students to take advantage of these technologies as educational platforms.”
Shapiro views developments like this as an inevitable progression for forward-thinking schools like Rivers.
“We are approaching the days where kids won’t have backpacks full of books. They will have just a single tablet like the iPad,” says Shapiro, who was a volunteer teacher at Rivers while studying at Tufts. “Mobile technology enables new dynamic learning experiences and allows education to expand beyond the classroom.”
“We are approaching the days where kids won’t have backpacks full of books. They will have just a single tablet like the iPad,” says Shapiro, who was a volunteer teacher at Rivers while studying at Tufts. “Mobile technology enables new dynamic learning experiences and allows education to expand beyond the classroom.”
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