Michael Peres: His 1 Year Journey from the YU Library to Owner of 2 LA Tech Companies

Tell me about yourself, what is your nationality, background, and education? 

I was born and raised in Montreal. I moved to NYC for 6 years where I  graduated in Computer Science and Mathematics. I currently live in Los Angeles, pursuing an MS in Bio-Medical Engineering. I also run 2 fast growing tech companies that cater to a wide spectrum of clients, from startups to celebrities. I’m also the CTO of an online movie streaming company, and I’m working on other projects such as a new framework for web development and news aggregating systems. I’m becoming engrossed in the untapped realms of biotech, including research in reversing the process of biological aging.

Can you give a brief explanation of your businesses?

HexaTiger.com - A company which aims to create state of the art designs with very effecient code. We generally cater this service to public figures or companies that are interested in tailor based designs. We do more than just make the website; we essentially take over their entire virtual division and build up our company alongside theirs. We have recently opened up a division for social media marketing, such as search engine optimization (SEO) and unique Instagram marketing services. Current clients include Ryan Serhant from the hit TV Show Million Dollar Listing New York (www.ryanserhant.com), DrinkH2 Rose (www.drinkh2rose.com), and of course the YU Commentator (www.yucommentator.org).

HectoFox.com - A company that is only 8 months old and already boasts over 300 clients running all their online services with us. We provide high quality cloud hosting services and look to offer useful features that our competitors don't offer at our prices/quality.

TohuMovies.com - I’m CTO at Tohu Movies, a new and promising online movie streaming company offering a competitive service to Netflix and Hulu.

ScienceHawk.org - A free service which creates a  live stream of science news updates from around the internet. This was built over a winter vacation and the underlying algorithm is currently in the process of being bought out by another tech company.

IsraelTalk.org - Similar to ScienceHawk.org, but this free service fetches live middles eastern news instead of science news.

What do you credit to Hexa Tiger’s and Hecto Fox’s exponential growth in the past year?

I have worked in the industry since the age of 12. It all started off with building computers in my basement, to building server systems in corporate offices. I have since moved over to the virtual realm of Software Engineering and cloud computing. Hexa Tiger is about 16 months old and Hecto Fox is about 8 months old. Both are growing impressively fast and show strong promise. One of the reasons for their success is that I have used all my work opportunities to take jobs that made me smarter rather than richer. I only turned profitable recently. The education I have acquired in this patient process has directly given me the skills needed to professionally manage and adapt to the complexities of 2 expanding tech companies.

What advice do you give to those leaving YU and entering the work world?

I personally believe that one of the most common mistakes individuals make when transitioning into the work industry is their lack of patience. They tend to be concerned with making money, rather than with the essential steps required to achieve it. If your sole focus is immediate monetary return you may be selling yourself short and compromising on the far greater asset, your ability hone your skills as a master of your field.

Therefore, it's truly imperative that one be patient in their pursuits, mastering every opportunity for knowledge along their economic journey. If you are willing to go to the trenches for knowledge, you will become capable of delivering to the world what others can't. After such, you will have the confidence to lead and improvise in your own unique fashion, something which renders you an irreplaceable asset. When such a philosophy is exercised making money is less of an immediate focus but rather, the inevitable byproduct of stellar service.


How long ago did you graduate YU? Has YU offered you any valuable skills? If so, please elaborate.

YU has provided me with more than words can describe. First, studying advanced Mathematics at YU provided a lens in which I view science in an abstract and in-depth manner. The ramifications of this have extended way beyond my academic career, and even past my professional career, it has directly influenced the way I articulate and philosophize life. For that, I thank YU, YU’s Math department and its former Chair, Thomas Otway.

Second, YU has allowed me to realize the true value of time, how to efficiently organize and manage a busy day. As many readers know, YU requires all students to exercise a full time curriculum in both Hebrew and secular studies. Managing a full course load of Hebrew studies alongside a full course load of advanced sciences and Mathematics taught me how to effectively make use of every moment throughout my day.

Third, YU helped form my personal ethical and moral foundation, which has influenced how I interact with my peers and clients.

What role do you see Biomedical engineering playing in the tech industry?

The science of today is the technology of tomorrow. For instance, number theorists studied prime numbers decades before they saw any practical application for them. Today, prime numbers have a wide array of practical uses, serve as the foundation for data encryption theory, and are the backbone to your safe surfing of the internet.

With respect to my current field of study, I strongly believe that Biotech will become prevalent in the near future. Biological systems will eventually become inferior to technological systems, as their progression is confined by darwinian evolution. Such systems are constantly assessing their environment and adapting at a slow and gradual pace by means of the successive genetic mutations and variations of offspring. On the contrary, technological systems are subject to the exponential rate of growth described by Moore’s law. That being said, biological systems will soon become existentially reliant and aided by technological systems. Given our current progressive reliance on technology, there is little reason to assume otherwise.

The near future would result in a relationship where a tiny increment of time results in a huge rate of technological growth. To put this specific point into perspective, imagine you traveled back in time 250 years (insignificant amount of time relative to the age of our species), before the discovery of electricity. Telling anyone about the internet, smartphones or space travel would make you seem like a crazy person. However, 250 years later, it's a natural part of life. This rate of growth is exponential and there is no reason to believe this would change. So if you were to tell us about life in just 50 years from now, you would seem exponentially crazier.

In conclusion, it’s very difficult for one to make specific predictions that hold meaningful weight about the future of biotech. However, one can say with confidence, these fields are merging and those who develop strong skills in both fields will have a tremendous and unique advantage when such a time comes to fruition. I don’t have a meaningful prediction of what I will do with my current bio-med studies but i’m very confident that the educational investments will reap benefits in the long run.

How do you balance being a student and a professional at the same time?  E.g. how do you balance business meetings with having to create time to do homework, etc.?

To me, they are genuinely one of the same. My passion for both share a common and inseparable core, working cohesively to aid my progression forward in life. The pursuit for knowledge should never expire and the success in my professional life is directly supported by this pillar of education. For this reason, I will always commit to strong educational pursuits alongside my professional works.

Specifically, I am constantly juggling between the two and prioritizing based on deadlines. I enjoy every single moment of what I do, whether I’m engrossed in the trenches of deep thought, or working all night building an awesome website for a client.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am currently looking for interns to fill the following areas: Project Manager, Graphic Designer, Server Admin, PHP/Wordpress Developer, Sales.

To see my portfolio, click here.
To contact me by email, use me@michaelperes.com.
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