Jay Shah

Name and current job title?  

Jay Shah, CTO and Co-founder

What did you study at UCL CS and during which years?

Computer Science BSc, 2012-2015

Tell us a favourite memory or something you like about UCL CS   

In my first year, we did a course that involved programming robots in the language “C”. We had to programme these little robots to run around a course full of sensors and everyone in the class raced each other. The grades corresponded to the race outcome. I just remember it was a really fun way to put your skills into action.

Do you keep in touch with UCL, through events, activities, keeping up with news, etc? 

I’m still friends with a lot of my coursemates. The company I co-founded, Kiroku, has actually been based at the IDEALondon co-working space, which is a partnership between UCL and start-up experts Capital Enterprise, since 2021. I found out about the space as we used to attend events there and John Spindler, the Deputy CEO at the time, recommended us working there.

How did you get from graduating from UCL CS to where you are now?    

While doing my BSc at UCL I worked as an intern at Brainlabs Digital, a digital-first media agency back when they were only 10 people. Then I did a masters in Natural Language Programming at Cambridge University. After that, I joined Entrepreneur First where I met my co-founder Hannah, a dentist. Together we launched Kiroku in 2017 to help tackle the frustrations she had experienced when it came to inefficiencies and stress relating to note-taking and medico-legal risks.

What kind of things are you currently working on and how did your degree help?

I learned a lot of product and project management skills that have been fundamental to building a company. Of course, I also learned actual software engineering skills such as the ability to code and build systems. I also got a good fundamental understanding of the theory of NLP, which I then developed through my masters. Kiroku uses AI to monitor and suggest improvements to our users’ templates, so all of these skills really came together in creating our product. One unintended benefit has been the connections to investors which has been really beneficial to our growth.

Do you have any advice for fellow alumni who are starting out on their career path?    

Get experience early. You don’t have to wait to graduate to start developing your skills and confidence. Take advantage of any opportunity to speak to knowledgeable people, do an internship if you can, or start building the things you want to build.

What is one achievement you are particularly proud of?  

Building Kiroku from an idea with Hannah and turning it into a reality is something I’m hugely proud of. We’ve built a company that’s been going for 6 years and we have a team of over 20 people working and serving customers around the world. Most importantly, we’ve helped over 3 million people to get better care from their clinicians. We’re giving clinicians the headspace to focus on the patient and the care they can provide, and not their notes or admin.   

What did you want to be when you were a younger?

I wanted to be a footballer for Arsenal but for a while, I also wanted to be the person that makes popcorn at the cinema!     

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love watching football with my mates (Team Arsenal). A lot of my downtime involves socialising and food, for example, we recently did a pizza crawl to try more of the kinds of food that we like. Plus, travelling around the world!

Do you have a favourite quote, motto or advice that you live by?

Enjoy what you do, otherwise it doesn't matter.

Do you know other languages aside from English?

Gujarati

Tell us something you like about being in London  

I grew up in London so all my family are here. I love how diverse London is and that also equates to the food options available! There’s so much to do and everything is really easy to get to. You never get bored in London.

Follow Jay 
www.trykiroku.com
jay@trykiroku.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayshah14/