VSee

People

• Milton (CEO, PhD from Standford in 2003)
• Christina (intern)

PhD work (2003) – incubation –> 2008 – CIA investment –> 2010 (Bay area social network company investment)

Main features: video conferencing, applications sharing, file sharing

Key technology

• video works well over 3G networks (demoed with iphone network)
• network sensing to detect the available bandwidth and adapt the compression

Customers

• IBM: Sametime vs VSee (VSee has better HCI)
• NASA mission control
• Navy seal real time ops, to link up with experts back in US

Why no video sharing for social network?

• Skype - different user experience
• Flash - not scalable

Tool for working remotely to solve the morning traffic jam problem

Focus on the enterprise market, where the money is

On startups

• 600k startups per year in US, only 8 become successful

• TechCruch, YC vs Merger and acquisition

  • high publicity does not ensure success, eyeballs alone not enough (few can
  • be like twitter or YouTube), need a business model and a product with
  • value (solve someone’s problem)

• Companies in different domains need different amounts of incubation,

• difficult to speed up

• Focus on a niche area where you can add value

• Don’t get funding too early (crawl, walk, run). Funding = booster rocket,

• cannot afford to make mistakes

• Focus on the engineering/good usable product, patents not as important.

• Patents are for offense, rarely for defense

• Learn from Lincoln, Pat Tillman, Mother Teresa

On management

• lead by example, never allow the word “boss”

• mirror vs glass: recognize the people for your success, you are responsible

• for the failures

• sandwich method: complement the person, criticize the action, complement the

• person

On sales

• most important untaught skill

• read Zig Ziglar’s books

• know people

On improvement

• micro learning, learn three things everyday

• break patterns

• ask your real friends for frank feedback

• importance of quiet time (defense against information overload)