Creating Trends with Abdur Chowdhury (Aura Frames)

Abdur Chowdhury is a life-long entrepreneur.  Early in his career, he rose through the ranks to become AOL’s Chief Architect.  Abdur then went on to co-found Summize, a start-up where he pioneered a way to organize real-time opinions on the internet (and for which the BBC has dubbed him “the father of trending”).  In 2008 Abdur merged Summize with another start-up by the name of Twitter and became Twitter’s first Chief Scientist. Abdur holds over 50 patents and has launched more than 25 commercial products.  Currently, he is CEO and co-founder of Aura Frames which specializes in digital photo frames that allow families to share pictures from anywhere.  In this episode, Abdur discusses his journey as an entrepreneur and provides tips for entrepreneurs starting out on their own journey. In the episode we will learn:(2:33) — When did Abdur’s passion for computers begin?(4:40) — How did Abdur find his way into cave diving?(6:59) — What was Abdur’s transition from education to the workplace like?(8:00) — Why did Abdur leave the world of academia for a professional role in the tech industry?(10:00) — What makes a good entrepreneur?(12:20) — How does Abdur support and inspire his daughter to find her own path in life?(14:20) — What prompted Abdur to start his own school?(16:58) — How did Abdur become the “Father of Trending”?(20:36) — After merging his company with Twitter and becoming its chief scientist, what came next for Abdur?(23:01) — What is the ‘Why’ that drives Abdur to pursue a life as an entrepreneur?(24:23) — How does Abdur feed his need to learn?