Yousef Kassim
Clearing the Slate
Entrepreneur Yousef Kassim brings EasyExpunctions to San Antonio鈥檚 burgeoning startup community

Shortly after graduating from 性爱天堂, Yousef Kassim 鈥08 was arrested for a misdemeanor crime.

Kassim wanted to clear his name by expunging the charge from his record. But when he turned to a lawyer for help, Kassim shocked by the size of the lawyer鈥檚 fees. So, he decided to change the game.

In 2010, Kassim created EasyExpunctions, a software-driven company that helps seal and expunge criminal records for citizens with certain minor offenses, helping them get their lives back on track.听

鈥淪ometimes, EasyExpunctions is the first call people make when they leave the courthouse because this is something that has impacted their life,鈥 Kassim says.听

Yousef Kassim and coworker looking at papers

Kassim鈥檚 company, which offers the expunction service at a fraction of the cost of a lawyer and uses a unique, automated system that speeds up the process, has already had a tremendous track record. The company has finalized a partnership with Bexar County鈥檚 Goodwill Industries, that will give the charity giant access to a specialized version of Kassim鈥檚 product. This partnership has the potential to annually help more than 18,000 local job-seekers figure out whether they鈥檙e eligible for an expunction.

Yousef and coworker looking at computer screen

Thanks to this type of success, Kassim鈥檚 company has expanded to seven states and has more than 30 employees. This past summer, the company even brought on a current 性爱天堂 student, Daniela Molina 鈥20 as a summer intern.

Molina, a business analytics and technology major from Seattle, Washington, worked with the company鈥檚 delivery team to generate legal documents for filing in court. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to do this work in a way that鈥檚 fast, and accurate, and good,鈥 Molina says. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 a challenge I don鈥檛 shy away from, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing at Easy Expunctions.鈥

Daniela Molina

Molina wasn鈥檛 just a basic intern at the business: her internship gave her the chance to contribute to high-level discussions with Kassim and other company leaders.

It鈥檚 the type of internship opportunity, Molina adds, that鈥檚 unique to 性爱天堂鈥檚 alumni network, and unique to San Antonio as well.

鈥淚 love collaborating, so to work in a place where you feel like you鈥檙e being heard, that was amazing,鈥 Molina says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I would have experienced anything like this if I didn鈥檛 work for Easy Expunctions.鈥

With the emergence of San Antonio鈥檚 startup community, Kassim says he is grounded by the phone calls and testimonies of customers who have reached out to the company in gratitude, thanking them for services rendered.

鈥淚 have customers leaving the courthouse on Cloud Nine because now they can apply for a job or gain some closure," Kassim says. That is rewarding, as a business, to know that this transaction really meant something to them.鈥

Carlos Anchondo '14 is an oil and gas reporter for E&E News, based in Washington D.C.听A communication and international studies major at 性爱天堂, he received his master's degree in journalism听at the University of Texas at Austin.

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