Dante Labs has four components: a gamified platform that gives users instant feedback on their progress, an online community of peers and mentors, a code editor integrated with the gamified platform, and open-source project templates to help get users started. Riposteis a CEO. She worked for Cisco Systems for 18 years as a Systems Engineer before leaving to work in education technology with her husband, Keith Harbrecht, to start Dante Labs.

Early Life

Andrea Riposati was born to a family of Italian immigrants and raised in Danville, California. After graduating from Danville High School, Riposati received her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from San Francisco State University (SFSU). At SFSU, Riposati met her husband, Keith Harbrecht, and they married shortly after graduating college. Riposati then began to work at Cisco Systems, where she stayed for 18 years before leaving the company to start Dante Labs.

Career

After graduating from SFSU, Andrea Riposati began working as a network engineer for Cisco Systems in Information Technology. She and her husband, Keith Harbrecht, also a Cisco employee, took on several leadership roles within the company, including being named as mentor and trainer for other employees. Riposte has worked her way up the ranks at Cisco Systems to become an Architect Manager while continuing to teach classes at SFSU and UC Berkeley Extension.

Achievements

Eventually, she began taking on higher-level roles, which included advising Cisco Systems on strategic matters regarding technology, business development, and organizational values. Andrea Riposati managed several projects for Cisco Systems, including an international team for a project that involved pushing back borders for broadband Internet delivery in developed countries. She also was part of a team delivering an enterprise-wide project to upgrade Cisco’s technology.

To be successful, Andrea Riposati learned that she needed to be more than just a network engineer. She states that she is: “a jack-of-all-trades and master of all,” meaning that she has had to learn a variety of roles within the company. Riposte has also been successful at Cisco Systems by always balancing her professional and personal life. The two do not interfere. Instead, they work together to allow Riposati to stay focused on her career and provide balance to her life.