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Join us as we introduce each of the teams participating in our 2024 Summer Launchpad accelerator!
Foxa.AI is an AI Onboarding Assistant for Technology Services & Consulting Companies that cuts costs and time of technical onboarding, making new hires productive and billable faster.
Team Members: Oana Ciherean (Stern ‘23) and Irina Barbos
Periods of isolation can often spark new creative ideas, from finding solutions to universal problems to changing your routine. For Oana Ciherean, a period of downtime while being away from work on sick leave led her to a life transformation.
During the three-week break, Oana spent time wondering how to help people using her skills and knowledge of the tech sector. Out of her brainstorming emerged the idea for her non-profit Dalia’s Book, which taught children in Romania how to code. Her startup received major success in the country, becoming a two-time finalist for Best Social Impact Startup at the Central European Startup Awards, and receiving an award for Best Digital Skills in Education from the European Commission.
After achieving success with Dalia’s Book, Ciherean began working on a new idea inspired by her experience teaching youth to code. Existing at the intersection of AI and education, Foxa.AI is an AI coach that helps software engineers learn and work on new code bases faster, making new hires productive and billable faster.
Below, learn more about Ciherean’s journey to entrepreneurship:
How did you initially find NYU’s entrepreneurial community?
OC: I pursued the tech MBA program at Stern because it focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. Throughout my program, I took a lot of entrepreneurship classes, which were absolutely amazing. The thing that initially inspired me the most was that the people and professors teaching entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship-related classes were entrepreneurs themselves. I absolutely loved that because I love learning from people who've been through the same thing that I want to go through. Throughout my MBA, I went to a lot of workshops at the Leslie eLab, and it honestly felt like an additional MBA because it complimented what I was learning at Stern. I really loved it. I love how NYU is invested in teaching students about entrepreneurship and making us all succeed.
What’s the biggest business challenge your startup has overcome so far?
OC: Figuring out the market. I think that was the largest challenge. Figuring out whether the market I was targeting was the right market to build a profitable business in.
What has been the most rewarding moment of your founder journey so far?
OC: The mentors. I think the mentors were absolutely amazing, and I like that they were there to support us one-on-one and give 100% customized and tailored advice based on where we are in our journey as entrepreneurs and with the startup that we're trying to build.
What 3 words describe your founder journeys?
OC: Rollercoaster, Passion, Distance. I say distance because I think that as entrepreneurs, it's very important to be aware that you're a separate person from whatever you're trying to build. There are times when you have to keep your distance from the thing that you're trying to build and not get emotionally involved in order to be able to make the best decisions for yourself and the startup.
What’s the biggest piece of advice that you’d give to aspiring student founders?
OC: To just do it. When I was doing my MBA, I had colleagues and a lot of other students approach me about wanting to go into entrepreneurship, but they were afraid to make the leap. So that would be my advice, just do it. Doing it doesn't mean you have to quit your job and be 100% in. It means just starting out and trying to see if you like it. Try with an idea, and test the market and see if you enjoy it. If you're an engineer, build something on the side and try selling it.
What is your best college experience (either academic or social) at NYU?
OC: My best experience at NYU was meeting all the successful entrepreneurs, whether it was in the shape of professors or through the experiential learning programs or [programs] at Stern and the Leslie eLab.
Favorite NYC spot to spend time?
OC: I like the parks because I spend a lot of my time walking my dog there.
What does the importance of teaching mean to you, whether it's through AI or a human?
OC: For me, teaching is growing and learning. I believe this is true for anyone who teaches, whether you are teaching directly or indirectly — by creating a course or creating a product that teaches others something. It's a growth experience.
