Scott Steber ’07
28 ● San Francisco, CA ● Co-founder/CTO at Mere Coffee and Director of Engineering at Radicand
Where did your path take you following your MFS career?
I graduated with mechanical engineering degrees from Boston University (B.S.) and Stanford (M.S.). I am the Director of Engineering at Radicand where I’ve led the prototyping and manufacturing cycles for consumer products, wearables, robotics, medical devices, and many other applications for clients like Google and Panasonic for the past four years. I also am the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of the startup, Mere Coffee. Mere Coffee delivers a champion coffee machine that uses compostable single-serve whole bean coffee and has already conducted a paid beta product launch, making a 50 percent margin on its weekly delivery subscription service.
How did you come to blend the worlds of entrepreneurship and engineering?
I deeply enjoy affecting positive change in the world through the development of new products and inventions. As an engineering consultant and as a start-up founder, I’ve been fortunate to have an opportunity to work on dozens of products over the past few years. Not all of them have been smashing successes, but each and every one has been a unique learning experience with its own set of hurdles. Many of the products I’ve worked on have also had incredible environmental and sustainability-related benefits. I’m always eager and excited to immerse myself in the design and engineering challenges that come along with the development of any new product if it seems like the world would be a better place if I could turn that vision into a reality.
Scott, there been a standout moment for you so far in your career?
Taking a start-up through YCombinator (YC) is certainly high on my list. YC is without a doubt the world’s most successful start-up accelerator, and I feel very fortunate to have been accepted into the network this past year. It’s quite a privilege to be part of such a small group of start-up founders that have such an outsized impact on the world.
What did you value most about your MFS experience as a student?
MFS is such a unique (and quirky) learning environment. My experiences with my fellow classmates and the faculty members were truly a far cry from what friends and acquaintances experienced at other institutions. The trust that’s placed in students, the curriculum flexibility, the celebration of diversity, and the emphasis on dialogue and critical thinking over standardized test scores all set me up for success later in my academic career. I feel like I left MFS wise beyond my years. Also, rocketry club! Shout out to [Science Teachers] Tim Clarke and Andrew Newman. I truly appreciate the leeway you gave my classmates and I to build and test some pretty wild contraptions in the pursuit of science learning. Thank you.
In the Fall 2017 feature story of the Among Friends alumni magazine, 30 young alumni under the age of 30-years-old were profiled for their promising talent. Scott Steber ’07 was one of our 30 under Thirty.