Nahanaeli Schelling spends her days looking for reason in rhythm. In New York, the Swiss-born software developer is working on a project that blends her greatest interest with her strongest skill: music and research. Finetunes is a music discovery tool that will allow its users to look deeper into the music industry and discover the often-uncredited people working behind the scenes—the producers, mixers and studio musicians. Right now, Schelling is knee-deep in data input and currently in prototype, but she doesn’t mind. The drive behind her business mirrors her approach to navigating life: probing beyond the surface to uncover hidden truths.

What do you find most satisfying in daily life?

I enjoy problem-solving. There needs to be some progress for it to feel like a good day for m...