1998 Trine graduate opens own firm, runs for U.S. Congress

By Faith Fegley
English ’25

Donna Sumiya Imam, a 1998 Trine University graduate, has developed her own product management consulting firm in the past ten years.

The firm largely focuses on technology research and analysis to gauge market demand, and bring new products that deliver optimal user experience.

Imam, an electrical engineering major at Trine, began her professional career as a design engineer for commercial and industrial smart meters at Siemens. From there, she worked in product management in the semiconductor industry, and also led marketing as vice president for a software startup that was later acquired.

These experiences inspired her to begin her own product management firm, where her team assists companies with developing products that address customer needs.

“I have a vision for solving problems,” stated Imam in regard to her firm and running for Congress. “I came to the United States because I believe in innovation. [I] decided to launch my own firm because [the company] brings something that's largely unmatched in the space. There’s a lot of talk about AI, but I believe we strongly underestimate human ingenuity.”

Imam continued by noting some particular hurdles she faced in the development and growth of her firm.

“It’s very, very difficult to land a customer [as a small firm],” Imam said with a laugh. “But one of the greatest thrills is when a customer says, ‘You know what, Donna, your company has actually helped us solve and analyze our problem.’ Some of it [landing a customer] is luck, but a lot of it is being able to deliver, and [the client] seeing value in our research methodology. It’s just as important to tell clients what to build as it is to tell them what products not to pursue.”

In her professional life, Imam also ran for United States Congress in Texas’ 31st district as the Democratic nominee in the 2020 election.

“I truly believe that the people who work for a living, they are America’s biggest assets,” Imam said in regard to her inspiration for running for Congress. “But, if you look at the folks that live in this country, more than half of the people have been living paycheck to paycheck. They have been left behind economically.”

When asked of her primary motivation for running for U.S Congress, Imam noted issues such as the cost of education and healthcare.

“Technology should be driving the cost of education down to nothing,” Imam said. “People are drowning in medical debt. I proposed practical solutions to these challenges.”

Imam has been able to achieve educational solutions locally in her current residence of Austin, Texas.

Here, Imam has led and run the largest educational nonprofit in Austin, Texas, Product Camp Austin. The nonprofit focuses on participant-driven ‘unconferences,’ which allows technology and business leaders to share information and ideas.

“[Product Camp Austin] runs conferences for absolutely free and we have helped thousands,” stated Imam. “We can bring debt-free education to everybody in our country.”

Imam is currently working with Sameer Sharma, Ph.D., department chair and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Trine. She hopes to eventually teach an Introduction to Product Management course for engineers at Trine, as well as assist engineering students in mapping out their career path.

“I’d want to tell [students] that there is always an area that you can excel,” Imam said.