How Mikaela Shiffrin’s Brother Will Help You Multitask

Mikaela Shiffrin is a household name. And her older brother, Taylor, could soon be one, too — but not because of ski racing.

Sure, he skis for the University of Denver, the top-ranked RMISA team that just won its 23rd National Championship title. But Taylor Shiffrin, a finance major, is focused as much on start-ups as on the start house.

Shiffrin has already founded a company, Inovize LLC, that has a top application in the Mac App Store. Fluid Browser, offered for $2.99, functions as an Internet browser like Safari or Google Chrome, but allows users to alter the transparency of the windows. Why? To better maximize real estate on smaller computer screens. Any college student who likes to write a paper and watch Game of Thrones on their laptop, will attest that it can be tough to multitask with limited screen space. The struggle is real, but this app helps ease the pain.

Shiffrin’s other project has more to do with the snow. Called “Snowvation,” the LA-based company describes itself as “a new technology company on the brink of offering an innovative and interactive platform focused on improving the convenience and transparency of the ski and snowboard industry.”

The Burke Mountain Academy alumnus joined the project about eight months ago, and Snowvation has already partnered with major resorts such as Killington. As the company explains, the app allows “users to read and write reviews on their favorite instructors, and book and instantly confirm lessons from months in advance to on demand lessons from anywhere at the resort, at the tap of a button on their smartphone or web browser.”

Whistler-Blackcomb and Alpine Meadows are in the works for Snowvation. “We’re working in tandem with them, trying to build out exactly what they want and the provide the value that they want to see realized,” says Shiffrin. “Really, the purpose behind that is so that we, as a company with the resorts and many other companies in the industry, can grow the sport as a whole.”

When Shiffrin’s not multitasking, he has a singular focus on training and racing as a Pioneer. His ski career has been on the up and up since starting school in Colorado, steadily improving during his four years. What’s the secret? Support from his Denver coaches and RMISA competition, he says.

“Just the nature of being on the collegiate circuit helps enormously,” Shiffrin says. “The higher intensity, the higher level of skiing that you see on the collegiate circuits is something that you don’t see anywhere else aside from, perhaps, NorAms.”

The added pressure of having family watching can also help drive results. Most of the time, Taylor and Mikaela aren’t able to cheer each other on in person, but while Mikaela was recovering from her bone bruise and MCL tear this winter, she was able to visit her big brother at the Colorado Invitational. Just having his sister around seems to have inspired him to achieve the best results of his college career.

“We definitely have a friendly sibling rivalry.”

The siblings have always pushed each other on the hill, but because of their age and gender difference, never felt fiercely competitive with each other.

“We definitely have a friendly sibling rivalry,” Taylor says. “In New Zealand, we trained together this summer. We would pull out the timing after setting up the course, and we would come down every run faster, faster. We would go head to head and every single time if one of us beat the other, then we were insistent on beating them the next run.”

That type of training and family support, he says, helped him earn his results this season. In many ways, meanwhile, skiing has driven his successful results in business.

“I’d say there’s a very specific reason why those who do ski race are more equipped to start entrepreneurial endeavors, and that’s because ski racing is a tough sport,” Shiffrin says. “It’s up and down, left and right. There are all sorts of variables thrown your way: weather, snow conditions, different course sets, competing fields. All of those variables — shifting variables — contribute to the durability and endurance of athletes in ski racing.”

This adaptability allows ski racers to be flexible in their business endeavors, adjusting to changing climates and customer needs. In fact, Shiffrin argues that you can charge right in with a valuable idea.

“Just build it,” says Shiffrin, who plans to pursue his MBA at the University of Denver. “Just hack your way through it. It seems so simplistic and counterintuitive. You see somebody has long grass and needs to have their lawn mowed. You knock on their door and say: ‘I see you need your lawn to be mowed. Do you want me to mow it? Pay me and I’ll do it for you.’ If your idea and your opinion provides value, then just go out and pursue it.”