In 2001, just before he graduated from UTS, 21-year-old Rob Castaneda used a few hundred dollars to launch the technology business that would later come to be known around the world as ServiceRocket.
Bachelor of Computing Science (Honours) – meet Rob
Rob Castaneda – CEO extraordinaire
“One of the beautiful things about UTS is the industry focus and practicality of the courses,” Rob says. “Everything is structured to help you navigate your way in your industry.” Rob credits his mentors within the Faculty of Engineering and IT with helping him find suitable projects during and after his studies. In turn, Rob has regularly supported mentoring and scholarship programs for UTS students and even taught alongside his mentors.
“What I try to encourage in everyone is an interest in making a difference because there’s so much disparity in the world. The more we learn about other people, empathise with them and look for ways to help, the better our communities become.”
They really opened my eyes to what was possible in the world. So I’m inspired to help other people smash through some barriers and make a difference.
Since its inception, ServiceRocket has built a reputation for helping non-technical people and programmers alike do more with software. Employing more than 200 people in Sydney, Palo Alto, Kuala Lumpur and Santiago, and with company earnings in the tens of millions, ServiceRocket has gone from strength to strength and Rob has been celebrated as one of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest, recognised as one of the ‘40-under-40’ entrepreneurs by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.