Empowering Developers: The Pace Experience of a Successful Startup Entrepreneur

Fabian Hiller is an international graduate student (MS in Computer Science) at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, whose journey in tech entrepreneurship is marked by passion, innovation, and hands-on experience. He originally started his open-source project Valibot as part of his bachelor thesis at Stuttgart Media University, and has continued to improve and develop it as a Pace student. Today, Valibot has been downloaded more than 7 million times, and Fabian expects to see even greater adoption in the tech industry.

Valibot is an open-source library designed to help developers build reliable, type-safe applications more easily. In software development, validating data is crucial to ensure that information entered into a system is correct and secure. Fabian’s project addresses this need by providing a flexible and efficient way to validate inputs, reducing the likelihood of errors and potential security issues. Valibot’s focus on performance and ease of integration makes the project an attractive option for developers looking to streamline their code and create dependable software across a variety of platforms, ranging from websites to web applications and web servers.

Fabian's choice to come to New York and study at Seidenberg was driven by the school's strategic location in downtown Manhattan, the strong support from faculty members, and the array of opportunities it offers for research, learning, and networking. As an active member of the Seidenberg community, Fabian emphasizes the importance of its academic experience, but also wants to encourage students to immerse themselves in extracurricular activities like events, clubs, and volunteering. Whether he's at the gym with fellow students or collaborating and making meaningful connections with tech industry leaders, Fabian has embraced the experiential learning ethos at Pace to grow both his technical and entrepreneurial skills. We had a chance to catch up with Fabian, so read on to find out more about his experience at Seidenberg, as well as his tips for success.

If you could pick an ideal day close to campus, what would it be?

I enjoy going to the gym and doing sports with other Pace students. I regularly join the boxing or volleyball club, play basketball, or work out in the weight room. I also enjoy walking around downtown Manhattan with friends and have good conversations.

As an international student, what made you pick Seidenberg as your school of choice?

There are many reasons. It starts with the great location in downtown Manhattan and ends with the immense support I receive from Pace University and its faculty members. Seidenberg provides many excellent opportunities to learn new things and meet new people.

If you could recommend one thing to students applying to Pace and to Seidenberg, what would it be?

I would recommend being active and attending the events that Seidenberg offers in addition to your normal class schedule. There are also many opportunities throughout the year to volunteer and meet other startup founders or employees from organizations such as Blue Origin, Google, Meta and Verizon.

What led you to pursue entrepreneurship in tech? Has it been a challenging journey so far?

I have been passionate about entrepreneurship and technology for a long time, and have tried many different things since I was a teenager. Be it game development, graphic design or video production. I have always enjoyed leading the foundation for new projects. I am very interested in having a positive impact on entrepreneurship and technology in the long run.

But, I cannot say that it has not been without challenges. Even though these areas are my passion, at the end of the day, it takes hard work and a lot of discipline to build great and innovative products with sustainable success in the long run.

What has been your favorite project to work on so far?

So far, Valibot has been my favorite project to work on. I started it as part of my bachelor thesis at the Stuttgart Media University in August 2023 and continued the research and development as part of my master’s at Pace University. With more than 7 million total downloads, I believe that it has the potential to soon be one of the most well-known and used libraries in its field.

How has Pace helped you with your projects?

In addition to all the benefits mentioned above, like great events and opportunities for networking, Pace University supports me with its Graduate Assistantship Program. As part of it, I get mentorship from Dr. Jonathan Hill and Dr. Christelle Scharff, and the financial support from the program allows me to focus on research and development of my open-source projects alongside my studies.

What are some of your future plans? Any research topics in the works?

Yes, I have a lot of ideas and plans. One of them is to release the first stable version of Valibot in the next weeks. Since the library could become a fundamental building block for many websites and applications, I expect a wider adoption and integration into other libraries and frameworks. I also plan to continue my research on bundle size and performance to further improve Valibot and share my findings with the open-source community.

Finally, do you have any tips or advice for students wanting to seek a career in entrepreneurship or tech?

I think the most important thing is to be true to yourself, to say "no" to stay focused, and to find your passion by regularly trying new things to enjoy what you do in the long run.