The Generalist with a Taste for Cider Donuts

Alex Schwartz ’09 (they/them) considers themself to be—and prefers to be in the company of—a generalist. As opposed to getting into one lane and becoming a specialist on a given topic, generalists think more broadly and approach challenges from a higher level. Plus, Schwartz says, generalists are more interesting, as they “contain multitudes.”   

And Schwartz contains multitudes. The graduate of WPI’s computer science and interactive media and game development programs is a renowned connoisseur of cider donuts who created a searchable directory of hundreds of New England farms that sell this tasty fall treat. Their Instagram page @ciderdonuteur has thousands of rabid followers. Schwartz also dabbles in music, woodworking, and building small electronics—and just so happens to have built a wildly successful video game start-up that was acquired by Google.

“The trajectory of determining your optimal career, getting a specialized degree, entering that field, and working your way up to more and more senior positions in that field—that’s the globally identified way to approach career and life,” says Schwartz, who lives on an island off the coast of Maine. “I feel like I reject the whole idea of that path.”

Schwartz grew up working in their parents’ computer repair store, so it’s only natural that they were always technically inclined. When it came time for college, they were attracted to WPI because it was one of the first universities to offer a four-year degree in game development.

They were part of the inaugural undergraduate class (the program launched in 2005) and credit Professor Joshua Rosenstock for supporting their non-standard approach to learning. “A lot of places force you down a singular path,” says Schwartz. “WPI really allowed me to embrace the generalist path and absorb lessons from both the tech and creative worlds.”

A year after graduation, Schwartz founded video game development company Owlchemy Labs. The start-up built video games for mobile and PC, but for about five years had no real hits in a largely hit-driven industry. The company almost went out of business a half dozen times, Schwartz says. “We were running on savings and releasing video games that weren’t taking off.”

But in 2015, their team got the opportunity to work with virtual reality company Oculus (owned by Meta, formerly Facebook) and Valve Corporation. The companies wanted Owlchemy to design and build a game for virtual reality headsets that couldn’t possibly be built for any other platform. “I knew it was going to be either the worst or the best decision of my career to go into this unproven market of VR,” Schwartz says.

But their team set to work and soon came up with “Job Simulator,” in which robots perform comical simulated jobs, such as auto mechanic, store clerk, or gourmet chef, in a job museum set in the year 2050. Schwartz says the VR game captures “the absurdity of work culture,” and is the “Wii Sports of VR” because it requires whole-body movement and encourages silly and embodied play.

It quickly became a megahit, with millions of downloads, and it has been rolled out on the Oculus Quest (aka Meta Quest), Steam VR headsets, PlayStation VR headsets, and was even packed inside the box with many of these platforms as a showcase for the intuitive power of VR.

In 2017, Schwartz negotiated a deal to be acquired by Google. As founder and CEO, they remained with Google for a year until deciding to pivot away to pursue “small, original, weird endeavors.” They continue to be deeply proud of “Job Simulator,” noting that “people still play it to this day and it brings joy and delight to millions.”

One such weird endeavor was their cider donut exploration. Schwartz has always been into quirky experimentations, and in 2020, they were looking for something silly and lighthearted amidst the somber backdrop of COVID-19. Living in Boston at the time, they were regularly driving out of the city “to anywhere that was more remote.” Hiking and being out in nature provided healing during the pandemic. And, of course, after all that fresh air and exercise, it’s always nice to have a treat. Schwartz got into the habit of visiting local farms to sample their take on the cider donut.

The cider donut map that Schwartz created and shared publicly online quickly earned a following. “People latched onto it immediately,” Alex says. “They were so passionate about where to find the best cider donuts, sharing vehemently about their favorite local farms where they had fond childhood memories of cider donuts.”

Schwartz also adopted a tongue-in-cheek persona, always wearing an orange plaid button-down shirt when out sampling. The look was inspired by the classic Onion article “Mr. Autumn Man Walking Down Street With Cup Of Coffee, Wearing Sweater Over Plaid Collared Shirt.” On their Instagram, they offer irreverent reviews, noting, in one instance, “the structure of the crumb is dense and moist, yet airy and delightful on the palate.”

“It was this idea of adopting a wine connoisseur mentality, but for donuts,” they explain.

Quickly, the bit began to take off, with various news outlets considering Schwartz “the cider donut king.” They’ve been interviewed by the likes of NPR and Boston Magazine on their top picks. (For the record, their 2024 favorite is Thompson’s Orchards in New Gloucester, Maine.) They see it as a public service, of sorts, and they’re also “unintentionally drumming up business for small farms.”

So what’s next? Schwartz isn’t entirely sure. They’re taking time off to explore, whether that happens to lead them to technology, donuts, or some other quirky endeavor. “I’m living life fully and re-remembering what sparks joy for me,” they say. “I’m keeping my mind and my heart open to anything that draws me in and following that intuition fiercely.”