[1][2] He developed an interest in computers at age 10,[1] and he began writing programs on his father's Radio Shack TRS Model III.

[1][7] Following his undergraduate degree, Chasen earned an MBA with a focus in accounting from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in 1995.

[1][5] In 1996, Chasen left law school after completing one year to join KPMG as a consultant in the Higher Education Group.

[1][9] During their time at KPMG, Chasen and Pittinsky observed that colleges were investing in connecting classrooms and dormitories to the Internet, but there was a gap in the adoption of software to aid learning.

[10] In an oft-cited anecdote, Baroni allowed them to borrow their computers while they got themselves set-up, a situation that Chasen and Pittinsky used to then steal their office chairs.

[2][11] Chasen and Pittinsky founded Blackboard LLC, a consulting company developing IMS (Instructional Management System) standards for elearning based on a contract from EDUCOM and the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative, in 1997.

[20][22] In 2013, Chasen founded SocialRadar, a D.C.-based mobile startup focused on building a social location app for smartphones and Google Glass.