CHE-ANDRE Gordon is a 28-year-old computer scientist and chief executive officer of Brainboxx Solutions Limited, a Jamaica-based technology company specialising in delivering high-quality software solutions.

Born in Waltham Park in St Andrew, he attended Naggo Head Primary School in St Cathrine and later Wolmer’s Boys’ School. Gordon graduated from the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) with an honours degree in computer science.

While at UTech, he had an early start to his entrepreneurial ventures when he joined his colleagues to form Vizioneerz. In 2018, with the dissolution of Vizioneerz, Gordon launched his first company, Pionic Works Limited with the objective was to provide information and communication technology systems, ranging from network infrastructure to custom-built websites and software. However, Gordon eventually sold his shares in Pionic Works and set up his second and current company, Brainboxx, with his friend and former schoolmate, Andrew Pettigrew.

In 2015, his third year in university, Gordon won first place in the Caribbean-wide code sprint hosted by Caribbean Mobile Innovation Programme (CMIP) and the now-closed StartUp Jamaica, which challenged competitors to develop a software solution in 24 hours.

Along with his Team UTech partners, Gordon developed the iTech Hotel app, an Android-based application using near-field communication (NFC), designed to allow hotel guests to interact with and control aspects of their hotel using the NFC component in their mobile phones.

In 2016, his final year at university, Gordon alongside Andrew Pettigrew, co-founder & COO of Brainboxx Solutions Ltd, copped the major project awards for the highest-performing thesis paper in research and development for their ‘Development of an NFC-Enabled Mobile Application for The Jamaica Urban Transit Company, (JUTC)’.

Though Gordon had stints at major technology companies, his search for independence drove him to set up Brainboxx with like-minded partners. Brainboxx’s focus is on developing software solutions through web development and cloud infrastructure configuration, to name a few. The company has two core products, HR Boss & Neuro Suite, built as initiatives to solve some of Jamaica’s primary human resource (HR) management problems and provide the sword for businesses wanting to fight the hard battle of going paperless.

Suggesting that the industry is full of quick fixes and products that are poorly maintained, or outdated, Gordon and his team aim to transform enterprises. “Companies often spend millions purchasing a system which they eventually outgrow and [they are then] forced to buy a newer system. Our business aims to target the source of issues faced by businesses and ensure continuous maintenance of products throughout their life cycle,” Gordon pointed out.

Gordon sees Brainboxx as a pilot to demonstrate efficacy. He intends to continue working on HR Boss until his team has created a well-developed HR tool. “This is similar to our local saying ‘dance a yard before you dance abroad’. I see growth in the industry as inevitable and that the exponential part of this growth will come as we prove our mastery,” Gordon predicts.

Che-Andre Gordon has done what many would’ve been afraid to do by striking out on the entrepreneurial path. His experiences have shown him to be a fearless risk-taker who truly believes in what he can provide to the market. It further shows diligence that Gordon has stuck to the same mission of working with a dedicated team to deliver exemplary service. Though the journey may be relatively short, he has made strides in growing and proving his worth.