Max Nickell

Max grew up in Noblesville, Indiana, where his first internship gave him a firsthand look at just how unpredictable a morning commute could be. The 40-minute drive often stretched much longer with traffic and construction delays—some days he'd arrive with time to spare, other days he was sprinting through the door. That experience stuck with him.

Max is a Computer Science student at Purdue University, concentrating in Machine Intelligence with a minor in Mathematics. He's also accelerating his education through Purdue's 4+1 program, earning both a bachelor's and master's degree in just four and a half years.

He first heard the idea for Zibt through Tomas Zolofra (CSO), a longtime friend of co-founder Blake Jaronko (CEO). The concept immediately resonated with his own experiences, and he jumped in to bring it to life.

Max has completed two software engineering internships and gained deep technical experience through both hands-on work and coursework. At Zibt, he's built the app from the ground up—engineering the backend logic, writing algorithms, and teaching himself new technologies along the way. He also worked closely with Natalia Correa (COO) to bring the app's UI designs to life in code.

For Max, Zibt isn't just a project—it's a solution to a problem he's lived. Now, he's making sure no one else has to gamble with their morning routine.