Biography

Kurling Robinson, co-founder, musician, and start-up visionary with over 25 years of expertise in software development and entrepreneurship space.

Mr. Robinson’s unique path was woven by the arts (Getty), automotive (Toyota), technology (NetZero), energy (IFS), and the drive to help his fellow man. Through a formative internship at Toyota, he was exposed to their unique approach to continuous improvement. With his first start-up at age 19, he learned very early that information and responsibility go hand and hand. A common thread from his first company, Internet Productions, which connected television networks like ABC to their fans, to NetZero, a company that he helped start, which connected people to the internet and companies to a new marketplace, his focus has been to give visibility to the obscure.

Leveraging the University of Southern California, where he studied Computer Science, Mr. Robinson has facilitated many successful companies. He is most proud of his work with the Code For America project, bringing the Family Assessment Form (FAF) to the cloud. FAF allows governments to analyze big data on how individual states/provinces are dealing with teen pregnancy, suicide, and other social issues, providing insight into applying successes in other states to “help children, families, and make the world a better place.”

Mr. Robinson was selected as one of the top mentors for SCORE nationally. With the incubator through USC Viterbi, he acted as an advisor and served on the board for several companies that were funded. He is a Venture Consultant at the USC Blackstone Launchpad. In collaboration with key partners like Apple, Blackstone, Google, and Universities, he is leading a team to create the Fōkcus platform, which uses machine learning to quickly assess entrepreneurs and match them with screened, certified business mentors.