We had the good fortune of connecting with Uche Okoroha and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Uche, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting my own business was to have more control over my day-to-day life and my future.. While I enjoyed my corporate job, I didn’t enjoy that many decisions were out of my hands. The most I could do to create change was bring up my ideas to the directors and hope they would act on the information I gave them. Furthermore, I felt that I was very limited in the direction I was going in the company from both a salary and fulfillment standpoint. Owning my own business means I have unlimited potential, I can instantly put my ideas to work, and I am incredibly fulfilled with the work that I am doing.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
TaxRobot is an AI-powered R&D tax credit software. What sets us apart from our competition is the problem that we’re solving in the accounting industry. Compliance is a critical factor in how the IRS confirms a valid claim. Traditionally, these compliance documents have been complicated and time-consuming to create. We created the most comprehensive software to tackle compliance issues using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

I am most proud of the fact that I had no prior experience in coding or artificial intelligence – I simply had an idea and access to educational resources. Using these resources, I spent long days and even longer nights educating myself on a completely new industry. In tech, businesses tend to have a high failure rate – so seeing so much success early on in my first tech company has been incredibly rewarding.

The biggest lesson I learned along the way is to always focus on the customer and have the customer help make your product or services better. We constantly schedule feedback discussions with our clients to gather information about what they liked and disliked about working with us. We then use the feedback they provide to improve our product.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For entertainment, I would go to a show or a sporting event at the Toyota Center – there are typically fun activities going on during the weekend. While in downtown I would take a walk through Discovery Green, a vibrant park with plenty to do and see. For dinner, I would go over to the new French restaurant Cocody. The ambiance and the food are incredible. If I was in the mood for Asian cuisine I would go to MF Sushi or Uchi. For a drink afterward, I would stop by one of Houston’s best cocktail bars – Anvil.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The success that I have achieved so far would not be possible without my business partner, Chris Sioco. When I started working with Chris at my previous company, I instantly recognized his talent. He is incredibly motivated to succeed and puts his all into any endeavor that he takes on. Together, we make an excellent team!

Website: www.taxrobot.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ucheokoroha/

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