Daniel Mika Built an AI Startup at 17. Seven Years Later, He Invests in Them.

For founder and technologist Daniel Mika, the idea of building the future is as ordinary as the everyday. No surprise, then, that his first foray into the world of artificial intelligence started long before GPT and Grok were en vogue: In 2018, Daniel became co-founded GetDressed, an computer vision-powered fashion stylist, (at the time of launch, he was only 17).

Daniel’s work in the startup world continues today, though his exact role has pivoted slightly. Rather than building startups of his own, he’s actively at the forefront of the scene all together. He’s an angel investor in several stealth startups and a partner at the MBA Fund, a VC fund investing in students, dropouts, and alumni founders from UPenn, Harvard, and Stanford. He also helps pre-seed founders find high-quality off-shore engineers in Poland with his new company, Descope, and he’s also a computer vision researcher at UPenn’s GRASP Lab.

On the Build to Last podcast with Ethan, Daniel shares his journey from founder to investor, his expert opinion on recent AI developments, and the importance of actively reaching out to people we can learn from.