Retailers optimizing customer experiences, manufacturers streamlining supply chains and marketers crafting precision-targeted campaigns all share one thing in common: the ability to harness advanced data and artificial intelligence. Uttam Kumaran '18 is helping businesses take advantage of these advancements. 

As the founder of Brainforge, Kumaran helps organizations leverage new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and analytics to uncover insights, streamline costs and boost revenue. Brainforge is the culmination of Kumaran's years solving complex business challenges and redefining decision-making. In 2024, the Bucknell University Alumni Association named Kumaran one of its 30 Under 30 in recognition of his achievements. 

At the helm of Brainforge, Kumaran works to instill a collaborative culture that thrives on continuous improvement and a fail-fast mentality. 

"Every day, we challenge ourselves to be better than we were yesterday," he says. "It's not just about delivering results for our clients but also about learning as a team and finding better ways to work together."

As a hands-on leader, Kumaran encourages his team members to take ownership of their roles, keeping their mission clear: helping clients make smarter decisions. He traces this mindset back to his time at Bucknell.

Supported by faculty mentors and Bucknell's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) resources, Kumaran honed the skills and entrepreneurial mindset that would define his career. "The collaborative environment and guidance I received at Bucknell were invaluable," he says. "They gave me the tools to think critically and creatively about how to solve real-world problems."

The Liberal Arts Difference

Bucknell wasn't the obvious choice for the native Californian, who initially imagined attending a California state system university. But Kumaran's father, a first-generation immigrant, had a different vision for his son's future. He insisted that Kumaran pursue a liberal arts education on the East Coast.

"I had no idea what a liberal arts education was," Kumaran says. "But my dad was passionate about it. He thought it would give me a broader perspective, and he was right."

On their visit to Bucknell's campus, Kumaran and his father missed their scheduled tour with Admissions. When Kumaran's father approached a professor in The Dana Engineering building, the professor offered an impromptu, personalized tour of the facilities. 

"That one-on-one tour was a game-changer," Kumaran says. "It showed me that Bucknell was a community where people care and go out of their way to help."

This initial experience set the tone for Kumaran's time at Bucknell, where he majored in computer engineering. But he didn't limit himself to his field.

During his sophomore year as an engineering student, Kumaran approached Professor Curtis Nicholls, the Kiken Family Chair in Management, about joining Bucknell's Student Managed Investment Fund, an experience usually reserved for senior management students. "I wanted to learn about finance; I had a sense it would benefit me in the future," he says. With the help of Professor Nicholls, Kumaran took summer courses to acquire the necessary prerequisites to participate in the capstone course.

At Bucknell, he also got a taste of entrepreneurship through the SBDC. He co-launched a venture called Maker EDU, which helped schools build maker spaces. "It was an amazing learning experience," he says. 

After graduating in 2018, Kumaran entered the world of startups. At WeWork, he managed data projects ranging from sales compensation to IPO efforts. Later, at Flowcode, he helped scale the data team during the COVID-19-driven boom in QR codes. But after years in grind-culture environments, he knew it was time for a change. "I realized I needed to evolve," he says. "I gave myself three months to figure out my next steps. I reached out to everyone I knew, professionally and personally, and tapped into the Bucknell network." The effort led to the creation of Brainforge.

For Kumaran, the most rewarding part of his work is the feedback from satisfied clients. "Our goal is to exceed expectations and feel indispensable to them," he says. His team's high standards have earned them a reputation as trusted partners.

But entrepreneurship comes with its challenges. "The hardest part isn't the work itself — it's the constant context switching," Kumaran says, citing the need to juggle technical projects with operational tasks like payroll and health care.

Looking back, Kumaran credits Bucknell with helping him find his strengths as an engineer and a well-rounded individual. "Bucknell pushed me to think outside my major and allowed me to explore," he says. "I don't think I would have gotten that anywhere else."