Jonathan Chang

Entrepreneur-in-Residence Jonathan Chang is the CEO and Co-Founder at Markit AI, a modern texting platform with a suite of tools, enabling brands and businesses to make the most of their audience through automated and customized text messaging. Jonathan was previously a software engineer at Realtime Robotics, Inc. from May 2020 to June 2021. Jonathan has a Bachelor of Science from Tufts University in Computer Science & Mechanical Engineering.

You can ask me about…

• Taking your first startup from idea to launch while in college
• Building and scaling tech platforms
• Marketing strategy and customer acquisition
• Navigating Boston’s startup ecosystem
• Balancing short-term goals with long-term vision
• Finding and working with early customers

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Lessons from a Young Founder: Jonathan Chang’s Journey with Markit AI

As a recent graduate of Tufts University (Class of 2020), Jonathan Chang has already made a significant impact in the Boston tech ecosystem. As the founder of Markit AI, a company that builds text message marketing campaigns for event venues like comedy clubs and concert halls, Jonathan is also deeply embedded in the local startup community, serving as president of the Techstars Boston alumni chapter and running a popular tech event newsletter.

Jonathan’s entrepreneurial journey began during his time at Tufts, where he participated in the New Venture Competition and the Tufts Venture Accelerator. Building a company from the ground up with fellow college students taught him valuable lessons about the challenges and rewards of launching a venture while in school.

One of Jonathan’s key pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is learning to handle rejection. “When you’re just starting your startup journey, you are going to hear a lot of ‘nos,’” he explains. These rejections come from various sources: potential customers who don’t want to use your product, investors declining to provide capital, or unsuccessful pitch competition entries.

“The biggest thing is you have to just be able to push through every ‘no’ and know that part of an entrepreneur’s journey is to get a lot of nos and rejection,” Jonathan advises. “Once you know that’s the case and become comfortable with it, it makes it a lot easier to continue pushing forward.”

Over the past three years, Markit AI has evolved significantly from its original concept. Jonathan emphasizes that this evolution is a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey: “Your first idea might not be the idea that it is down the road for the company.” He describes the challenge of knowing when to persevere versus when to pivot as “binary.” When facing roadblocks, entrepreneurs must decide whether to continue their current path or recognize a fundamental flaw in their problem-solving approach. However, Jonathan warns against half-measures: “Whatever decisions you are making, pursue them fully. Don’t do them halfway.”

When it comes to fundraising, Jonathan offers cautionary advice from his own experience:

“Don’t try to raise money too early.”

He acknowledges this as a mistake he made himself, approaching investors before his company was truly ready for capital. For inexperienced entrepreneurs, investors typically want to see clear signs of traction. For B2B startups, this often means securing initial paying customers. For B2C platforms, it might mean building a user base of thousands. Jonathan recommends seeking mentor advice before fundraising: “Ask them for a very honest answer: am I ready to go for capital?” This can prevent entrepreneurs from wasting valuable time that could be better spent generating traction and acquiring customers.

Understanding how to balance goals is another crucial lesson Jonathan shares. “If you can’t wear multiple hats, you might not be cut out to be an entrepreneur,” he notes, advocating for a dual focus: immediate goals and long-term vision. He encourages entrepreneurs to concentrate on “today and tomorrow” while maintaining a bold long-term vision.

“If you have two customers,” he explains, “don’t spend time thinking about what it will take to get to 100 customers. Focus on getting the third, fourth, and fifth.”

This step-by-step approach makes the entrepreneurial journey more manageable.

Jonathan’s commitment to the startup ecosystem extends beyond his own venture. He works closely with various accelerators and organizations in Boston, including Techstars, Tufts, and other local innovation hubs. Through Markit AI’s event-focused platform, he helps support the ecosystem by organizing networking events, fireside chats, and panels for young entrepreneurs.

Behind Jonathan’s drive for entrepreneurship lies a deeply personal inspiration: his father, who started multiple businesses, including a restaurant, while raising his family. “Seeing the challenges, but also the successes and the fulfillment of building something from the ground up” drove Jonathan toward entrepreneurship rather than corporate life. “It’s extremely risky to start a venture,” he acknowledges, “but the success hinges on everything that you put into it.”