Dante
Maggiotto
Maker · Scientist · Generalist
Hey, I'm Dante :)
Here's a more personal side of mine - what makes me tick.
About Me
I've never fit neatly into one box. Trained as a scientist, drawn to building things, and pushed to figure things out. I thrive at the intersection of disciplines—because learning and adapting is what makes us great.
My path has been intentionally nonlinear; lab benches, startup offices, community stages. Each chapter taught me that the best solutions come from connecting dots others don't see.
Work
Data Analytics at Hatch
Analytics & ML
Built executive level data analytics metrics on Hatch's $10B+ revenue pipeline. Built out an ML Model to forecast total utilization monthly. Bypassed a lot of AI blockers.
Crypto at OSFI
Policy & Research
OSFI is the government branch regulating banks. Researched digital innovations in banking, incl. crypto, stablecoins, blockchain, CBDCs. Got to look at classified exec meetings within big banks, and had round table meetings with major players like Interac, Binance, Wealthsimple, etc.
Processes at Nicoya
Operations
Series A startup, builds SPR machines using microfluidics cartridges for drug discovery and molecule-molecule binding interactions. Designed SOPs, did lab testing, and ate a lot of Tim Hortons.
Firebird
Co-founded a startup
Co-founded an AI wildfire prediction startup. We used satellite imagery + DL to forecast for ignition hotspots based on 80+ parameters. Won the Conrad e-launch pitch. Published an article with UWaterloo News that blew up, got reposted by Vivek Goel, current UW President.
Residence Life Advisor
Leadership
Lived on the floor, wrangled 45+ first-years (x3), and made sure everyone survived midterms/exams. Hosted weekly floor events, ran community building, and was the on-call for the 1,000+ students in residence, with a focus on mental health.
Director of Waterfront
Leadership
Went to summer camp every year. Eventually they hired me to run waterfront—one of my most valuable experiences. Taught 500+ kiddos to swim, trained guards, but learned most about owning problems and leadership/communication. Also got to live in a cabin with my best friends for 4 months.
Projects
Socratica ⁂
Community
Global community of makers, artists, engineers, and everything in-between hosting weekly co-working sessions worldwide. March 2025 we organized the world's greatest demo day for 2500+ people. Truly my inspiration for pushing my limits, I would be in a very different place without Socratica <3
Design
Creative
He can design? Well sort of.
Websites
Development
Built some websites for various projects
Writing
Substack & More
I used to love writing, but school started to make it feel like a chore. I've started rekindling my love for it by writing about things I'm passionate about, on Substack and other.
Science
Research
I am a biochemist by trade, after all. Currently doing a biocomputational thesis on venom peptide anti-inflammatory effects in IBD and Crohn's, and building a biomedical Radioactive Isotope Detector for emergency triage. Have worked in Wet and Dry labs doing Pipetting, electrophoresis, PCR, microscopy, spectrophotometry, data modeling, statistical analysis, experimental design, etc.
Wacky Experiments
R&D
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Making music with code
Spent a day working through Strudel documentation to make this snippet
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Projection Mapping
Making beautiful visuals through a handheld projector
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Connect 4 min/max model
My roommates kept beating me at connect 4, so I built a simple algorithm to get the next best move
- ASCII art on a 2001 Mac OS X
Innosolve
Community
I founded the first Science club formed in over a decade, scaled to ~15 people across 3 cocreation teams, with the objective of learning more technical skills, doing more independent group work that I didn't see executed with curriculum.
The Other Stuff
Public Speaking
Talks & Panels
For years, I was terrified of public speaking. I always had confidence on what I was saying, but it's truly an art form to perfect stage confidence. After dozens of pitches, case competitions, and training from some of the best mentors I've ever had, my stage presence is far improved.
Investing
Portfolio
Diversified portfolio focused on industry-performance stocks, long-term performance ETFs (CSU), cryptocurrencies, depending on market conditions. My current portfolio diversification:
Beta Testing & Tools
Early Adopter
I have a ton of AI and productivity tools I've accumulated over the years. I love being early to these products, user testing and interviews. Here are some of my favourites:
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mymind
Private place to save thoughts, images, and links without organizing
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f.lux
Adjusts screen color temperature to reduce eye strain
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Wispr Flow
AI-powered voice notes and workflow automation
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Raycast
Mac productivity launcher with keyboard shortcuts
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Beeper
Unified messaging app connecting all chat platforms
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Napkin
AI tool for collecting and connecting research ideas
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Granola
AI-powered notetaker
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Superhuman
Lightning-fast email client with keyboard shortcuts
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Gamma
AI-powered presentation and document builder
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Mobbin
Mobile UI design pattern and inspiration library
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Cosmos
Like Pinterest for design
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Exa
AI-powered search engine with APIs for research
Events
Hosting & Attending
I love understanding event dynamics. Have attended 120+ through Luma and hosted dozens. Amazing things can happen when you bring a group of people together. Some amazing ones:
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AI Agents Workshop
Fundamentals of AI Agents with my friend Maya Lekhi, and Advait from Warp
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Claude Create-A-Thon
100+ cracked waterloo builders spent a whole day building claude artifacts →
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Socratica:Lounge
12 cool demoes, 100s of people with an espresso + matcha bar, and jazz band. →
Iron Man 70.3
Endurance
Trained up from zero experience to Iron Man 70.3 Victoria in 6 months, had a bunch of amazing friends from Waterloo and SF join. The journey is so hard yet so worthwhile!
Music
What I've been listening to lately.
Recently Played
All-Time Favorites
Hobbies
What I do when I'm not working.
Scuba Diving
Did my scuba certifications in Lake Ontario mid-October/November. Not super pleasant as you can imagine, but it opened the doors to a whole new world. I have ~10 dives on record across Canada, Barbados, Cancun.
Running
Picked up running as a way to clear my head between everything else I juggle. I love the discipline of building mileage, dialing in pace, and zoning out on long solo runs around Waterloo.
DJing
I started obsessively DJing when I bought my first controller, an FLX2. Since then, it's become my mindless therapy. I even bought a strobe light →
Sports
I grew up playing many sports, namely hockey, soccer, swimming, and I played badminton + curling in high school. Also played a lot of basketball — my team is 2x semi-competitive champions for UWaterloo.
Travel
Places I've been, memories I've made.
Florence, Italy
Barcelona, Spain
Nice, France
Valencia, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Cancun, Mexico
Madrid, Spain
Florence, Italy
Nice, France
Barcelona, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Valencia, Spain
Madrid, Spain
Cancun, Mexico
MORE PLACES (AND PHOTOS) COMING SOON
Guestbook
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