Adam Pouliot

Founder & CEO, Kato Housing · Senior, University of Maryland.

I build things that fix problems I've faced. Kato started because finding off-campus housing at UMD was a nightmare, now thousands of students use it every week.

View Kato →Get in touch

14,870+

students explored Kato

685+

units on the platform

paid marketing

Work

Kato Housing

Founder & CEO

Student-focused apartment search and subletting platform for UMD and College Park. Bootstrapped to nearly 15,000 users with zero paid marketing. Partnered with the City of College Park. 685+ units and 135+ active sublets live on the platform.

Adam Pouliot outside the University of Maryland IDEA Factory

Adam Pouliot speaking with students at the Kato showcase

The Kato team beside their showcase display

Adam Pouliot being interviewed at the Kato showcase

Press

Featured on Maryland Today↗

University of Maryland campus gate in College Park

College Park, MD

Award

Won Best in Customer Discovery — Pitch Dingman ($3K)

Kato team accepting Best in Customer Discovery at Pitch Dingman

Best in Customer Discovery — Pitch Dingman, Nov 2025

Grant

UMD Entrepreneurship Fund Grant ($1K)

UMD Entrepreneurship Fund Grant

Community

City of College Park recognition

City of College Park

Milestone

Nearly 15,000 students explored Kato

PropTechSaaSCollege Park MD

katohousing.org →

Startup Shell

Director of Partnerships

UMD's student-run startup incubator. Manage alumni, donor, and corporate sponsor relationships for a community with $2B+ in collective portfolio value.

Spring 2026 Fundraising Promo Video

Adam Pouliot speaking at a talk hosted by Startup Shell and Z-Fellows

Talk hosted by Shell & Z-Fellows

Startup Shell's Sponsor Display, May 2026

startupshell.org →

Projects

High-powered rocketry

Personal project

Led my high school's competition rocketry club and built a custom active airbrake system that deployed mid-flight to hit a target altitude. In college I designed and flew my own rockets from scratch, earning Level 1 and Level 2 high-powered rocketry certifications. One crashed from 2,000 feet — I rebuilt it and flew it again a month later.

HardwareAerospaceHigh school → college

BlazeBlock

Personal project

A UV/IR-based flame detection device that alerts homeowners within seconds of a fire — compared to minutes for standard smoke detectors. Built a working prototype, received third place at Howard County Engineering Expo, and filed a patent. Reviewed by my local fire department.

Demo video

HardwareFire safetyPatent pending

About

I'm a senior at UMD studying Quantitative Economics and Business. Before Kato, I built a UV-based flame detection system that could detect a fire 83% faster on average. I'm drawn to hard problems that have a clear user at the center.