An alum’s risks and rewards

ASU computer science grad turns entrepreneurship into autism activism

Tim Cope encourages students to take risks.

That may sound like an odd posture for a man who made his name and fortune as the co-founder of a software firm that provides innovative solutions to companies looking to minimize their exposure to costly business risks. But he has his reasons.

“Taking risks sometimes involves failure and I find that failure is super important to good experience as an engineer,” Cope says. “Failure helps you become both a more resilient person and worker. You understand things a little differently and you gain new perspectives.”

Cope is a highly successful graduate of what ultimately became the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. He received his bachelor’s degree in computer systems engineering in 1994.

In 2009, following a career as a software developer and team manager, Cope and his business partners founded Origami Risk. The group sought to create a single-version risk management information system, or RMIS, that operated in the cloud.

Their solution was designed to replace a patchwork of individualized pieces of software, each created for a different client and each deployed on servers in a variety of locations. The Origami Risk single-version piece of software ensured that every client got the full benefit of updates and new features. Making the RMIS available on the cloud meant that clients could give employees all over the world access to the tools.

Risk management is an important element of protecting businesses from unforeseen expenses, consumers from unnecessary costs and employees from preventable accidents. Corporate clients turn to Origami Risk for help in making sure they don’t overpay for insurance, that they make good decisions about worker welfare and that assets like vehicle fleets are managed with safety in mind. The company’s software helps with everything from cybersecurity to reputational risks to avoiding the perils of natural disasters.

Origami Risk was born out of Cope’s decision to risk his future on his own capabilities.

After his then-employer closed its New York office and let the development staff go, he was approached by now-partners, Robert Petrie, Steve Fischer and Linus Concepcion, about starting a new venture. Cope weighed more secure job offers from existing companies. But with encouragement and support from his wife, Dr. Jennifer Cope, he decided to write a new chapter in his career as an entrepreneur.

From a small startup with a handful of employees, Origami Risk has emerged as an industry leader. Today the company, headquartered in Chicago, has more than 900 employees, an annual revenue of $200 million and is growing at a rate of approximately 25% per year. The company is currently exploring the use of artificial intelligence in its development process, searching for novel ways to improve the products it offers to clients.

Looking back, Cope believes the risk paid off.

“Every experience you have informs the next experience and it’s all valuable,” he says. “Not every project I have worked on has been successful, but if you take risks with a thoughtful eye on the future, it will pay off in the end.”

From taking risks to giving back

Today, Tim and Dr. Jennifer Cope hope to leverage their success in a new project that seeks to help the families of children with autistic get access to much-needed resources. The nonprofit Cope Center for Autism currently being developed by the couple was initially inspired by Dr. Cope’s work as a pediatric neurologist.

“Jennifer sees a lot of autism patients,” Tim Cope says. “One problem she identified is that it can take a very long time to receive an autism diagnosis — mainly because there is a lack of physicians who can do this work. In the past, she’s had to book patients eight months out due to her own case backlog.”

Cope explains that families are reliant on these diagnoses to get resources for support, to put plans for treatment in place and to request accommodations from their child’s school. Such long waits for diagnosis leave autism effectively unaddressed during vital childhood years and can create serious issues like learning delays, depression and social isolation.

Located near the Copes’ New Jersey home, the center will bring together nurse practitioners, doctors and other medical staff members who will work together to deliver access to timely diagnoses.

The new center will provide advocacy assistance to help families navigate the process of receiving available governmental and school resources. It will also offer after-school programs for middle schoolers with autism to parents searching for engaging programs specifically tailored to neurodivergent preteens.

Lessons learned and lessons offered

Cope says his education in the Fulton Schools helped prepare him for his current career. He thrived in classes on data structures, algorithm design and graphics programming. He’s now playing a role in helping current computer engineering student by serving on the industry advisory board for the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence.

A key lesson he took from his student years is the need to be mindful of system performance.

“One of the things I see in young developers right now is they don’t focus a lot on the performance of the code they write,” Cope says. “Hardware has progressed so much that processors can compensate for code that isn’t optimized. But ultimately, we’re building applications that are going to be used by thousands of people simultaneously. Speed and optimization must be factors.”

Cope is aware that students graduating today are entering a competitive, challenging employment environment. He encourages them to focus on developing strong problem-solving skills, good soft skills and to be well-rounded people.

“When I conduct interviews, I’m really looking at a combination of things,” Cope says. “The technical skills have to be there. But we also need strong communicators. I look at someone’s ability to think outside of the box, to conceive of new solutions.”

Ross Maciejewski, director of the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, says that Cope exemplifies the excellence the school hopes to cultivate in its graduates.

“Tim Cope has clearly been personally successful in applying the lessons of our computer engineering programs, using them as a foundation for a career in software development,” Maciejewski says. “But his emerging work as a philanthropist is a nod to one of our core values, the charge for us to build a foundation for all to be successful.”

Cope says the future looks bright for Origami Risk. He expects the firm to continue to develop new products, including those that provide solutions to help insurance companies manage incoming claims.

His final lesson for students is to encourage them to seek out projects they are passionate about.

“If you’re excited about what you’re doing, then it’s going to show and the results are going to be there,” he says. “Try to embark on something that you really care about.”