Tom Serres
Business Minded - Socially Responsible - Driven by Passion - Motivated by Vision - Empowered by Technology
| Headline: | Startup Member |
| Work status: | Employed Full-Time |
| Website: | http://www.piryx.com |
| Industries: | Computing, Entertainment, Gaming, Information Technology, Internet, Lifestyle, Media |
| Skills: | Business, Chinese, Design, English, Entrepreneurship, Guerrilla marketing, Languages, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Negotiation, Public speaking, Spanish, Viral marketing, Writing |
| Location: | Austin, TX |
| Interested in: | Advising startups, Brainstorming, Finding business partners, Finding experts, Finding mentors, Finding team mates, Getting press, Giving back, Helping friends, Internships, Learning about entrepreneurship, Meeting new people, Mentoring, Offering Expertise, Participating in a competition, Professional opportunities, Promoting my startups, Raising money, Receiving feedback, Recruiting, Recruiting for my startup, Starting a company |
| Tags: | austin, consulting, design, entertainment, entrepreneur, politics, technology, texas |
FEATURED STARTUP
Piryx Inc
Piryx Inc
Austin, Texas startup, Piryx Inc. empowers democracy through technology. The company’s non-partisan political software fuses technology and democracy for the masses - empowering the average political entrepreneur.
- Startup type: Company
- Status: Active
- Stage: Growth
FULL BIO
Passion and vision motivate Tom Serres. With a background in Marketing at the University of Texas, he uses both to make a difference - through technology. Serres recently teamed with three college friends to form technology startup Piryx. His company uses the Internet to communicate and educate - to empower the democratic process.
Even At an early age tom was actively involved in entrepreneurship, frequently turning every commodity he could get his hands on in to an opportunity. His fondest memories come from selling candy he would swipe from his mothers war chest to fellow classmates - she was a sales rep for Hershey's chocolate at the time, visiting the flea market on the weekends with his dad, or riding around in the early morning hours helping with deliveries for his Sarah Lee franchise. Strong work ethics were instilled in Tom from the very beginning.
Outside of Piryx, Serres spends time with his wife and daughter. They love to relax on Lake Travis. When things slow up at work, Tom's probably hanging out in Austin's coveted greenbelt, enjoying his new family, or engaging his desire to study and learn Mandarin Chinese. Tom also has a passion for Management Information Systems. He's also highly involved in the community. He's a member of The Texas Breakfast Club, The NexGen Political Action Committee, Texas Ventures, The National Eagle Scout Association, The Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Texans for Israel, and The Uptown Circle of Friends.
Serres embraces the entrepreneurial spirit — he loves the thrill of the startup and mentoring young entrepreneurs. He hopes that by helping young entrepreneurs he will sharpen his own skills while assisting Austin to become one of the top places in the country to launch a new venture.
WORK EXPERIENCE
| Employer: | Xseed Ventures |
| Position: | Director |
| Time period: | May 2008 - Present |
| Description: | Investing in people and great ideas. More to come... |
| Employer: | Texas Ventures |
| Position: | Founder - Board of Directors |
| Time period: | January 2006 - Present |
| Description: | We are an organization in the midst of fabricating a strongly woven foundation that will enable us to reach out to fellow entrepreneurs alike, offering a variety of resources and networking possibilities that will benefit each member.
Texas Ventures aims to instill a competitive attribute personifying determination with the ability to create success. A platform for minds with ambition backed by persistence, aggression backed by wisdom and reason backed by hope, we support the credo of hard work as a matter of principle. |
| Employer: | Piryx Inc |
| Position: | Founder - CEO |
| Time period: | May 2005 - Present |
| Description: | Piryx believes in passion. Your passion. We believe technology is knowledge. And knowledge is power. We believe technology dissolves barriers of class, race, age, and gender. We believe in the power of one. The power to change the world through democracy.
We believe a diversity of political views strengthens democracy — the democracy envisioned by the Founding Fathers. We believe the vision and ideals of the masses should be heard. Piryx gives a voice to the people, Be heard. |
| Employer: | Texas General Land Office |
| Position: | Business Analyst |
| Time period: | June 2006 - June 2008 |
| Description: | Enterprise Architecture, IT Consultation, and Process Management Engineer for Information Systems, Energy Resources, and Asset Management.
The GLO's core mission is still the management of state lands and mineral-right properties totaling 20.3 million acres. Included in that portfolio are the beaches, bays, estuaries and other "submerged" lands out to 10.3 miles in the Gulf of Mexico, institutional acreage, grazing lands in West Texas, timberlands in East Texas, and commercial sites in urban areas throughout the state. In managing that property, the land office now leases drilling rights for oil and gas production on state lands, producing revenue and royalties which are funneled into the state's Permanent School Fund. The dividends and interest from Permanent School Fund investments go into the Available School Fund, and from there money is distributed to school districts on a per-pupil basis, helping to offset local property taxes. Since the Permanent School Fund was established in 1854, the Texas General Land Office has deposited into it more than $6.8 billion, mostly from oil and gas leases and real estate trades and sales. In addition to its oil and gas activities, land office responsibilities now cover many other areas. As the oldest state agency in Texas, the GLO's Archives and Records division houses original Spanish, Mexican, and Republic of Texas land grants and associated documentation. The Asset Management program helps promote efficient use of State real property. The Recycling, Adopt-A-Beach, Coastal, and Oil Spill Prevention and Response programs work to protect our natural resources. The land office triggers economic development through its natural gas marketing initiatives and loan programs offered to veterans through the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB). |
| Employer: | TomSerres.com |
| Position: | Freelance IT and Political Consultant |
| Time period: | June 2005 - January 2008 |
| Description: | IT & Political Consulting, Internet Marketing, Branding, and Design. |
INFORMATION
| Clubs: | Texas Ventures
Texas Breakfast Club Texas Entrepreneurs National Eagle Scout Association Texans for Isreal Uptown Circle of Friends |
| Awards: | Semi-Finalist, National Social Innovation Competition 2008
Eagle Scout, National Eagle Scout Association Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society |
Tom's Startups (1)
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Piryx Inc
Austin, Texas startup, Piryx Inc. empowers democracy through technology. The company’s non-partisan political software fuses technology and democracy for the masses - empowering the average political entrepreneur.
Tom is Following (4)
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OHE Network Inc
Interactive digital signage touch screens, paid for by advertisers, offer cell phone users FREE entertainment and downloading of selected content onto their small screen device.
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HolyLemon
Started off as a place where I uploaded the Flash animations I made, and has now grown over four years into a fully-fledged, profitable entertainment destination. It was one of the first humor sites to embed video into the browser (old school no...
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PlayStation Universe (PSU.com)
Largest independent PlayStation site worldwide. Took strategic investment from Gorilla Nation Media, one of the largest ad sales companies in the US. 7.5m pageviews & 120,000 members.
Tom's Contacts (5)
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Kieran O'Neill
Bermudian, 21, startup founder living in London, working on web apps and enjoying life. Working on third company.
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Nick Ducoff
VC/Start-Up Lawyer and Entrepreneur in Austin
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Naveed Lalani
Entrepreneur, Lover of Design and Technology, and Founder & Chief Interaction Officer at Piryx Inc.