无码专区

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Finding Ikigai: the unexpected magic of AI

By
Katie Todd
Posted
December 19, 2023
Seidenberg alum Mochii De Castro poses at the front of a train car

In 2018, a disgruntled hotel guest triggered a profound realization for Seidenberg grad and serial entrepreneur, Mochii De Castro.

As an LGBTQ+ immigrant from the Philippines, Mochii thought she'd made it鈥搒he had achieved her dream of working at a prestigious hotel where she could make the most of her MBA in International Business. But one day, a phone call from an irate guest changed everything.

What was the guest so disgruntled about? "Grapes," Mochii reveals. "Back in 2018, I used to be in a different field. I worked in hospitality management at a 5 star hotel in Beverly Hills catering to the top 1%. One day I received a call from an irate guest. He was so angry, he was like 'how many times am I gonna tell you never put red grapes in my room?! WE ONLY EAT GREEN GRAPES!' This was a wake up call. I immediately realized that I didn't want to do this for the rest of my life."

On a quest for a career change, Mochii realized that getting into tech would afford her the opportunities to grow in more fruitful ways. She discovered ikigai鈥搕he Japanese concept of finding purpose鈥攁nd led Mochii to 无码专区.

"In my quest to find my true calling, I discovered the Japanese concept of ikigai, which focuses on finding the intersection of one's passion, skills, societal needs, and earning potential. After careful introspection, I found my life's purpose in data science, with a particular emphasis on automating tedious tasks using artificial intelligence. I was determined to make a more significant impact on the world than merely solving grape-related problems."

Mochii joined the Seidenberg School's M.S. in Data Science program in 2020. Despite lacking coding skills and the necessary calculus foundation, Mochii worked tirelessly to excel in her coursework. She was rewarded for her hard work with her second master's degree鈥搕his time in data science.

Now, as a 无码专区 alum, Mochii's mission to live into her ikigai has led her to build a fascinating startup. Asterabrand is an AI tool that auto brands a company and . To use the tool, founders and marketing directors answer a variety of probing questions about the company's mission, vision, and values to receive a comprehensive analysis of the brand with suggestions for creating鈥揳s the company states鈥揳 "harmonious, impactful, and authentic brand identity that truly resonates with who you are and what you stand for."

Harnessing the creative and analytical power of AI, Mochii built a platform that supplies mission and vision statements, branding assets such as brand colors, fonts, images and even web and social media copy.

Mochii wove in astrological imagery and rhetoric to bring Asterabrand even more to life, referring to brand personalities as constellations containing clusters with different archetypal characteristics to them, giving Asterabrand its own unique brand constellation too鈥揵ased on Mochii's vision for her future.

"My journey of self-discovery and resilience has taught me that it is not a magical map that leads us to our purpose, but rather our daily choices and determination. I am grateful to 无码专区 for helping me get closer to my dreams," she says.

"All I鈥檓 saying is that you are the greatest project you will ever work on, so don鈥檛 be afraid to be different. Be afraid of being like everybody else."

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