Each year, the UMKC Alumni Association recognizes the achievements of outstanding alumni with an awards celebration. UMKC is honoring Riddhiman Das (B.S. ’12, M.S. ’19) with its Class of 2022 Alumni Spotlight Award. The Spotlight Award recognizes an alumnus whose accomplishments, leadership and public service have caused regional and national attention to be focused on the university and the metropolitan area.
Riddhiman Das’ love of technology started when he was five years old when his family got their very first computer.
“I was immediately hooked. I was amazed at all the things this device could do, and quickly resolved to spending my life building in innovative areas of computer science & technology.”
That is exactly what he has done as the co-founder of TripleBlind, a data security company that allows companies to securely transfer data to solve challenges in healthcare, finances and science without compromising privacy.
TripleBlind is said to be the product of groundbreaking innovation. What inspired you to create it?
As more and more of our information is stored and transacted within the digital world, as opposed to the analog world, the current approaches we take to ensure the privacy of these transactions fall short. I wanted to find a way to allow our collective data assets to be used to their fullest potential to solve real world health, financial and scientific problems, while at the same time ensuring that the regulations that govern them are enforced and privacy is intact.
What did you learn working with a large, international corporation? How is that different from a start-up environment?
The two experiences are very different, yet symbiotic. As the saying goes, the best way to compress 10 years of learning into two years is to work at a startup. I am a better start up executive because I have experienced the large company scenario. And because I started my career at fast-moving, innovative, high-tech startups, my ability to contribute to large companies was significantly enhanced by those experiences.
How did UMKC prepare you for/contribute to your success?
I really feel like the computer science program at UMKC is really underrated. It has a world-class faculty and research programs, and I got involved in a lot of extracurricular and co-curricular activities which really helped me develop into a well-rounded person. Because of the small class sizes, you get a lot of close attention from your professors and faculty. Also, the robust internship programs ensure that students are able to learn outside of the classroom in real-world situations as well.
What is your favorite UMKC memory?
I really like how involved the faculty was. Everybody knew me and took a personal interest in my learning and success. I spent many nights and weekends at school working on obscure projects with my professors and fellow students. On top of that, I also met my wife at UMKC and built some lifelong friendships.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
Being able to get TripleBlind from founding to being more than a $100 million company in less than two years has exceed my own expectations!
What advice do you have for students who’d like to follow in your footsteps?
A large part of the success in the early years of your career depends very much on what you know as well as who you know. So the most important piece of advice for folks earlier in their career is to start to develop a large network in your domain. Also, in the early years of your career, it's important to have a lot of breadth as much as is important to have a lot of depth. So, I'd encourage you to try new things and put yourself outside of your comfort zone more than you historically have.
About Alumni Awards
Join us in honoring Das and the other Class of 2022 awardees at an in-person celebration at 6 p.m. April 29, at the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center. To register, visit UMKC's Alumni Association website. If you are unable to attend the event but would like to donate to student scholarships, contributions can be made online.