
Infinite Careers is a collaboration between Career Services (CAPD) and the MIT Alumni Association to explore career paths and the non-linearity of career decision making. Read profiles of alumni with unique career paths, hear their stories and network at a series of talks.
Education
- UC Berkeley – Bachelor Of Science, Bioengineering
- MIT – Doctor Of Philosophy, Bioengineering
Bio
Marcio von Muhlen is a tech startup veteran who shipped multiple 0-to-1 products at Doximity, Dropbox, and Stripe. In between commercial efforts, he managed an international life sciences data platform at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative philanthropy. He’s currently the co-founder of Turboprop, a data and automation platform for commercial real estate. He earned bioengineering degrees from UC Berkeley and MIT, where his research focused on biosensors for early disease detection.
What influenced your choice of graduate program/programs? How has it/have they shaped your career choices and professional ability?
I chose to attend Course 20 at MIT because I wanted to contribute to biomedical research, grow my technical skills, and join a world-class entrepreneurial community. I was able to accomplish these goals, although not in the exact proportion that I expected. While completing my graduate degree, my career took an unexpected turn away from life sciences and towards tech startups. Although this wasn’t the original plan, I was well prepared. Life at MIT is intense, and it turns out that working hard to discover new scientific knowledge has many parallels to bringing new business opportunities to life.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in your career? How have you managed or overcome it?
I’ve had ~5 big successes in my career, a few more middling outcomes, and a far greater number (I lost count) of failures of varying intensity. Failure is common when taking on high-risk, high-reward ideas, and it can be very painful and deflating. Two ways I’ve overcome these challenges: (i) view every attempt as a learning opportunity, so there’s always some reward, and (ii) lean on the communities I’m a part of to support me through the tough times.
What professional development experiences or opportunities shaped your early career?
I’ve had the immense good fortune of working directly for high-growth academic and business leaders in the early stages of their careers. These opportunities are rare, high-pressure, and high-risk, but can yield immense rewards. By being early, I was able to become an integral part of meaningful outcomes, get intensive mentorship on how to make such outcomes happen (or fail spectacularly while trying), and form lifelong bonds with other folks involved.
Do you have any tips for networking or job searching for current students and recent graduates?
In my experience, great career opportunities come about by (i) demonstrating the ability to make great contributions, and (ii) knowing enough about your field and skills to judge for yourself where the exciting—and perhaps overlooked—opportunities are likely to be. Students at MIT have a huge advantage in both these areas, as exciting and challenging problems and problem-solvers are all around them.
Last edited: September 2024