Kristopher Priemer, a 2011 ESTEEM graduate, started the University of Notre Dame ESTEEM program after he received his B.A. in Mathematics and a Minor in Computer Science from Saint Louis University in 2009. During his time here at Notre Dame, Kristopher worked with Professor Amitabh Chaudhary on a project they titled “Demand Forecasting for Perishables: Predicting Using Machine Learning Algorithms.” This project addresses the difficulty that many industries face in matching supply with demand. In particular, Kris and Professor Chaudhary focused on the food industry, where spoilage rates are as high as 40%. In order to increase the efficacy of supply chain management, Kris worked to develop a business plan to implement Professor Chaudhary’s decision-making algorithms. The application of this software is not limited to the food industry, and may be further expanded to increase efficiency in supply and demand forecasting in the fashion, holiday merchandise, vaccine, and high-tech gadget industries as well. 
Kristopher related that while his experience at SLU provided “an in depth understanding of the technical aspects of mathematics and computer science,” it was his experiences at ESTEEM that have given him “the tools to convert these ideas and concepts into sustainable commercial products.” While in the ESTEEM Program Kris was instrumental in promoting entrepreneurship on campus and took full opportunity of all of the entrepreneurship related activities and events on campus. He was an advisory council member for the Four Horsemen Society, a society who's mission is to promote engineering, science, and technology entrepreneurship at Notre Dame. Kris was also a semi-finalist in the 2010-2011 McCloskey Business Plan competition with his venture Mercuri Trading, a firm offering an organized secondary market for trading municipal bonds.
Kris is currently continuing to develop his capstone thesis business plan and his startup venture, Mercuri Trading. Kris is working to provide financial firms with innovative back office software as a service (SaaS) tools. Software as a service, sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a common delivery model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over a network, typically the internet. The ultimate goal of both ventures is to facilitate efficient work and communication in client companies in order to build revenues, manage workflows, and sustain growth.
Good Luck Kris!