# Ernesto Reza-Garduño

> Ernesto Reza-Garduño is a Mexican-born entrepreneur and MIT mechanical engineering graduate. An early Thrasio employee and former head of product, he co-founded Mayan in 2020 and served as its CEO before becoming a board member. He subsequently founded Tekkers AI, a football community venture developed with Aakash Ahuja. His career connects data systems, e-commerce operations and a long personal involvement in football.

- **Role:** Founder at Tekkers AI; Co-Founder and Board Member at Mayan
- **Organizations:** Tekkers AI, Mayan, Thrasio, NRG Energy, everis, Accenture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Y Combinator, Techstars
- **From:** Mexico City, Mexico
- **Nationality:** Mexican
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on entrepreneurship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Co-founded Mayan, a Y Combinator Winter 2021 company., Was Thrasio employee number three and its first brand manager, later serving as head of product., Co-authored “Droplet mobility on lubricant-impregnated surfaces,” published in Soft Matter in 2013.

## Career timeline

- **2009–2010** — Appeared on MIT men’s soccer rosters as a goalkeeper.
- **2013** — Graduated from MIT; worked at an early alcohol-delivery startup.
- **2014 onward** — Worked in data consulting at Accenture, followed by everis and an NRG Energy leadership development program; exact transition dates are unconfirmed.
- **2018** — Joined Thrasio in August as employee number three and its first brand manager; subsequently became head of product.
- **2020** — Co-founded Mayan with Chris Compean, Javier Garcia and Armand Mignot.
- **2021** — Mayan participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 batch.
- **2023** — Mayan announced a $5 million Series A; its March announcement identified Chris Compean as CEO.
- **2023** — Began exploring the football venture that became Tekkers AI with Aakash Ahuja in November, according to his launch post.
- **2024** — Tekkers joined Techstars New York City powered by J.P. Morgan’s spring accelerator class.
- **2026** — Publicly introduced Tekkers AI in a LinkedIn launch post.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Mayan, a Y Combinator Winter 2021 company.
- Was Thrasio employee number three and its first brand manager, later serving as head of product.
- Co-authored “Droplet mobility on lubricant-impregnated surfaces,” published in Soft Matter in 2013.
- Named as an inventor on the liquid-impregnated surfaces patent application US20130032316A1.
- Founded Tekkers AI, which appeared in Techstars’ spring 2024 New York City powered by J.P. Morgan cohort.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Introduced Tekkers AI publicly on LinkedIn, describing a venture explored with Aakash Ahuja since November 2023.
- **2024-06** — Featured by Techstars among founders practicing their Demo Day pitches in Central Park.
- **2023-03** — Celebrated Mayan’s $5 million Series A and described its expansion from advertising into inventory optimization.

## Links

- Website: https://tekkers.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernesto-reza
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/el_ernestoreza

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ernesto-reza-garduno
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14