Big KC: No internship needed, Kimber Lockhart sold Increo then grew Box

Most college juniors are happy with an unpaid internship related to their major. Free work for real-world experience is the status quo, and students will gladly gain that experience to jumpstart their career with the hopes of the big payoff long down the road.

We’re heading into year two of Big Kansas City, and looking forward to sharing your stories and those of our speakers over the next few weeks. All of this wouldn’t be possible without our content partner, Pinsight Media+. They are a pioneer in mobile media with deep entrepreneurial roots. Their team brings leadership, experience and global awareness to Kansas City’s booming startup community. To learn more or talk with our friends at Pinsight, email Serge Bushman, sbushman@pinsightmedia.com.


Kimber LockhartMost college juniors are happy with an unpaid internship related to their major. Free work for real-world experience is the status quo, and students will gladly gain that experience to jumpstart their career with the hopes of the big payoff long down the road.

Kimber Lockhart took a different path.

During her junior year at Stanford she founded Increo in 2008, a cloud storage and document sharing startup. What first started as a class project with a few classmates quickly turned into a growing company. Three months prior to graduating, Increo received a $500,000 seed investment from Silicon Valley Venture Firm DFJ. Lockhart found herself moving straight from the dorms to a new office—with the title of CEO.

Increo continued to build until 2009, when the company was acquired by cloud content management service Box. Only a year and a half out of college, and Kimber Lockhart had successfully built and sold her first company.

She joined Box as its seventh engineer. Within four years she would rise to be the company’s senior director of web application engineering. During then, Box experienced exponential growth. Today, the company employs more than 750 and is valued at nearly $1.5 billion—with a B.

Still in her 20s, the Iowa native has accomplished more than most would wish to in a lifetime. Further, she has done this while being a rarity in her industry. When she graduated Stanford, only 17 percent of computer science majors were women, with men claiming 87 percent of engineering positions at U.S. tech companies.

Today, Kimber Lockhart is the vice president of engineering at One Medical Group, an innovative primary care practice offering a superior level of service than traditional health care. She was recently recognized as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women Engineers in Technology and is sought after as a public speaker at conferences covering a variety of topics.

In October, Kimber will join this year’s slate of speakers at Big Kansas City 2014. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, visit bigkansascity.co. Help us welcome her on Twitter @kimber_lockhart.

 

Credit: Photo courtesy of Kimber Lockhart.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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