Kurt Collins kurt@collins.gd Lisbon, Portugal / Jersey City, NJ https://collins.gd https://linkedin.com/in/kurtcollins SUMMARY 25 years building technology in service of people. Founder, engineer, CTO, and Chief of Staff. Co-founded The Hidden Genius Project. Represented Built.io in the OpenAPI Initiative. At my best on small teams with hard problems, where the gap between strategy and execution is something you close yourself. EXPERIENCE Chief of Staff, Recital, 2024 - Present Legal technology company. - Serve as strategic advisor to the CEO, responsible for translating vision into execution across product, engineering, sales, and operations - Built the company's sales process from scratch alongside the CEO - Developed the full category creation strategy and company point of view on legal tech - Managed the SOC 2 certification process end-to-end - Wrote grant proposals generating over $200k in funding Director of Engineering Ops, Yat Labs, 2021 - 2023 Digital identity, blockchain, and NFT products. - Led a 21-person engineering org including developers, QA, and project managers - Launched a real-time blockchain data analysis engine - Improved on-time delivery by 30% through agile process improvements Chief of Staff and Head of Digital, Refound, 2020 - 2021 Leadership development company. - Served as Chief of Staff to the CEO, owning strategic planning, operations, and two direct reports - Built the company's digital group coaching platform, reducing client onboarding time by 40% Chief Technology Officer, Partydash, 2018 - 2020 E-commerce startup. - Designed and launched Dash Camp, a virtual summer camp for children, built on Apollo GraphQL and Vue.js - Led code reviews and engineering mentorship Director of Technology Evangelism and Partnerships, Built.io, 2014 - 2017 SaaS automation platform, acquired by Software AG in 2018. - Led developer partnerships with Cisco, Meraki, Box, MongoDB, and others - Represented Built.io in the OpenAPI Initiative - Speaker at Cisco Live, API World 2015 and 2016, DeveloperWeek 2017 Co-Founder, The Hidden Genius Project, 2012 - 2014 Youth technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership program. - Co-founded organization and developed curriculum for first two cohorts - Primary programming instructor teaching Objective-C, Python, and other skills to over 100 students - Organization has grown to reach 11,000+ young people across six cities with 978,000+ hours of training Technology Strategist and Lead Developer, Youth Radio, 2012 - 2014 Nonprofit media organization. - Taught coding and technology skills to youth - Built real-time listener metrics server and managed server architecture for website relaunch - Developed inclusive technology education curricula Co-Founder and CEO, Enole, 2009 - 2012 DNS-based digital identity platform using NFC. - Raised $250,000 in seed funding - Reached $40,000 in quarterly revenue within the first year SKILLS Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, GraphQL, Node.js, Vue.js, React, AWS, DigitalOcean, Vercel, GitHub, Docker, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Technical Writing, Public Speaking, Strategic Planning, Organizational Management, Team Leadership, DEI, Developer Evangelism, API Integration EDUCATION Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, did not complete Milton Academy, Diploma, Class of 1997 PUBLICATIONS The Fierce Urgency Of Now, Abernathy Magazine, November 2016 Know your real-time protocols for IoT apps, InfoWorld, August 2015 A software engineer's approach to streamlining DevOps processes, TechBeacon, August 2015 More at https://collins.gd COMMUNITY Just Cities Institute, Board Member and Chair of Fundraising Committee, 2024 - Present Milton Academy 1798 Committee, Chair, 2019 - 2025 LANGUAGES English: Native Spanish: Intermediate Portuguese: Beginner