Steve Goldenberg found his calling in technology entrepreneurship as a Georgetown University student nearly two decades ago.
A native of Michigan, he recalls a college tour visit to the D.C.-based school where he would eventually develop the web application that became Interfolio, Inc., a higher education software company that streamlines institutional decision processes and professional development for faculty and administrators.
“I immediately fell in love with the university,” Goldenberg says, adding that Georgetown’s Jesuit educational mission of educating the “whole person” allowed him to explore various disciplines, especially with his particular interest in entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
“I made my own major, in a way,” he says. “I was a self-taught engineer and I was working through school, writing software, building databases and supporting various units on campus as a student technology employee.”
As a student technology employee, Goldenberg assisted the vice president’s office, the Kennedy Institute of Ethics (KIE) and another office by running their technology systems. The first-hand experience working closely with faculty and administrators gave Goldenberg insight into how universities operate on multiple levels.
“I got to know the way scholars approach their careers and the way that faculty approach leading their institutions and doing the teaching and research and service work that is the essence of a faculty career,” he says.
In one instance, Goldenberg helped a professor at KIE save files on a malfunctioning computer. The professor thanked him and shared with him that her “life’s work exists on that computer and nowhere else,” he recalls. It made him feel connected to “helping scholars deliver on their mission of teaching students and doing research that advances knowledge.”
