We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marko Danial a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marko, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

My company is all about sharing various STEM innovations with the world, so it had to be unique. Therefore, I came up with the name Techineer by trying to incorporate technology and engineering into one word. The first element comes from technology (“tech”), while the second comes from engineer (“ineer”). I wanted the name Techineer to be short, catchy, and easily remembered by everyone!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Marko Danial, but I also go by the nickname of Pharaoic. I was born in Egypt and moved to California with my family in 2007. Hence, the name Pharaoic! I’m currently an engineering student at the University of Southern California. I’m the founder and CEO of Techineer, an online community dedicated to showcasing STEM innovations to the world. I started Techineer in early 2020 and now have over 1.8 million followers across social media. While Techineer is my biggest project, I have founded other companies such as Spzrts and Genfluencer. I first started using social media during my first year of high school. Ever since then, I have managed and grown numerous social media accounts. What began as a hobby eventually turned into a business. My first project was Spzrts, which started as a sports account on Instagram and later evolved into an online store. Genfluencer is a news organization dedicated to the coverage of the digital world that I founded and co-own with my friend Adam Meskouri.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I would say that Techineer began as a side hustle since I had no idea where I was headed. Techineer was initially founded on my passion for science, engineering, and technology. In early 2020, I was sharing content entirely for fun, and this is when Techineer began to gain hundreds of thousands of followers. From that moment, I knew there was much more to be done. Now, we sell numerous tech items on our website (www.techineer.com), promoted to our fanbase. I am currently a USC engineering student; thus, getting an education is my top priority. However, I am constantly trying to expand Techineer, so I consider it a full-time business. My long-term goal, once I’m an engineer, is to be able to take Techineer to the next level!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building an audience on social media isn’t exactly easy. It takes a lot of hard work and time, but most of all, dedication. To build an audience, you must first identify your niche and audience. Then consider how you can add value to that audience. Some questions you should think about: What type of content will I be sharing? What are others in the same niche doing? How can I do it better? When I first started Techineer, I had nothing particular in mind, but I knew I wanted to focus on showcasing STEM innovations. After months of sharing content is when I began to see results. Although it was a bit slow initially, I was still consistent because it was something I loved doing. Therefore, the key to building a social media presence is consistency. I believe this is the most important factor in getting started. You learn as you go. It won’t always click immediately, so you have to keep going and try new things!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pharaoic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pharaoic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pharaoic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pharaoic
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/pharaoic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/pharaoic