This Software Engineer and Start-Up Co-Founder is Changing the Way He Works with Investors
So often, we have the misconception that if we don’t obtain immediate success from a job, relationship, or hobby, we’ve failed. However, a better perspective is to view these so-called “failures” as opportunities to explore other interests and passions you have in life.
Jim Gibbs did just that and turned his career around, going from a software engineer to the co-founder of a multi-million dollar company, and is now exploring potential investors for his company.
Gibbs co-founded Meter Feeder, a parking payment app that allows users to pay for parking with “an integration between the vehicle and a city’s metering system” (Black Enterprise). The company’s mission is to “provide a low-cost payment and enforcement solution for authorities of all sizes.”
Before Meter Feeder, Gibbs had a lengthy career in software engineering, as he’s been writing software for decades, according to Forbes.
In 2015, Gibbs and Meter Feeder’s co-founder, Daniel Lopretto, created the company after winning a hackathon. Getting funding in Pittsburgh was initially challenging, with Pittsburgh's lack of venture capital firms.
According to Forbes, in 2016, Meter Feeder joined Y Combinator, a startup accelerator company, and won $100,000 from the Google Black Founders Fund in 2021.
Despite the successes of the multimillion, 15-member strong company, Gibbs would still face comments from white investors who often expressed he should be “more confident” and stop “underselling” his company to potential investors.
This year, Gibbs decided to switch his mindset from “begging” investors for funding to realizing that his company is so successful, that he’s in the drivers seat. These days he asks himself “who do I want to make money for?” His company has proven successful, garnering millions of dollars in revenue. So, why did he need to change himself to please investors?
“First, he didn’t need to change. He just had to recognize that what he had accomplished and what the team had already built at Meter Feeder was a good sign that the company is going to succeed – and succeed big” (Forbes).
Gibbs is now in talks with car manufacturers and the federal government about Meter Feeder’s API.