Colin Parsons

Now

I'm a software engineer at Clay. I build backend and frontend features, and integrate third party datasets and providers. We build creative tools for outbound prospecting.

Before

In high school, I began studying math at Stanford ULO when I was 16. I led the team at GravityGames, making the first-ever game to be 3D printed on the International Space Station. I used data analysis and AI to improve our eye-tracking algorithm at Eyefluence, where we built an eye-based UI for VR and AR viewers. We were acquired by Google.

In college, I studied math and Spanish at WashU. I researched AI cybersecurity threat detection at Delinea, where we created identity-as-a-service enterprise solutions. We were acquired by Thoma Bravo. I wrote scripts to improve portfolio visibility for the asset diversification team at WashU's endowment. I researched $100m-$500m enterprise value software businesses for potential acquisition at a PE fund called Red Iron Group. At Contrary, a university-focused venture fund, I was a venture partner, then led the summer accelerator for portfolio companies, then was an EIR.

I built lots of projects in college, including a bot that found sales intros based on email traffic, a website that created custom clothing designs using AI, and a quarantine virtual fitness community. When I graduated, I become a solo founder. I pivoted from providing infrastructure and marketing testing for small and medium businesses to doing fully automated content marketing, using AI to automatically create ads, articles, and videos for companies. After being paid $10k from clients and raising $100k for an angel round, I decided I didn't have the necessary long-term conviction, and turned down the money. Instead, I joined a stealth startup as the founding engineer, built our backend and our frontend, and led our engineering team. We were creating a marketplace for off-market real estate, but the startup failed.

Personal

I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area. I've lived in St. Louis, Madrid, and Boston; now, I live in New York. I love hiking, playing and watching soccer (YNWA), building things with my hands (once upon a time I won first prize in the California State Fair for my chessboard), playing with my dog, and offering moral support to my girlfriend during 49ers games and Formula 1 races.

Contact

Work: colin@clay.com
Personal: c.parsons.429@gmail.com