Leonid S. Knyshov's Comments

Qpointment fills your schedule with customers :

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 16:47:03 +0000

This comment refers to my other product. I am working on it. :)

Qpointment fills your schedule with customers :

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 16:46:32 +0000

Sorry for delay in response. Yes I solved that problem. I'll e-mail you.

StartupCFO : Turning off the devices

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 11:12:22 +0000

it would actually be trivial to integrate Tungle and turning off data connection on a device. Just an option. I might make such an app on top of my platform. :)

StartupCFO : Common Startup Mistakes

Sun, 3 Oct 2010 23:07:24 +0000

Consider making audio recordings of your presentations. I use a Zoom H2 to record mine, but there are many options. It would be quite a bit more valuable. :) I'd probably share them through screencasting in addition to slideshare. Timing the slides to audio is not complicated.

VC Adventure : Preparing an effective executive summary

Sun, 3 Oct 2010 22:36:46 +0000

Why not post and dissect an effective executive summary? I applied copywriting techniques when I wrote mine. After all, when seeking financing we are essentially selling a piece of the company, so why not make it a clear advertisement. When writing an advertisement, I consider how I would write scripts for a primetime TV commercial with focus on benefits and absolute minimum about the technology. That would be vastly different from a trade magazine full-page ad where I would expect to see technical jargon.

Digital Trends : T-Mobile G2: Everything We Know

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:53:10 +0000

Yum.. yum.. yum! This loyal T-mobile subscriber has the credit card in his hand... :)

TechCrunch : TechCrunch Review: The Blekko Search Engine Prepares To Launch

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:06:16 +0000

That would be Mozilla Ubiquity

TechCrunch : Mark Cuban Dreams Of Minority Report. So Do I. But We're Not There Yet

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:46:25 +0000

Expose IMEI via Bluetooth and you are basically there. An easier approach is again a bluetooth sniffer and a on opt-in bluetooth app. You walk into the bar, pass the BT scanner at entrance, you are checked in.

TechCrunch : The Return Of The Blimp . . . As A Green Cargo Carrier

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:34:30 +0000

Helium is a non-renewable resource currently being squandered on balloons and such. It is critical for such applications as cooling superconductors. However, this is still interesting.

Feld Thoughts : Bummed Out About Bilski

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 07:47:20 +0000

What if we were to require the patents to be substantially narrow and complete that another person given adequate tools and materials can accurately re-create the subject of the patent? After all, is that not how we look at older patents complete with detailed engineering drawings? This would kill overly vague patents. I have no problem with very specific patents for inventions. I would like to invite anyone who thinks that software patents are a good idea to read a software patent. As a software engineer, I should be able to figure what is really being patented. However, patents are intentionally written excessively broadly to the point of absurdity. For example, here is a newly granted Microsoft patent 7,747,965 regarding control of opacity of multiple windows (one implementation that comes to mind is the "peek" feature of Windows 7): http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=P... Just try to read that thing. Then notice how many patents it references, which you also must read... For example, here is a definition of computer "With reference to FIG. 1A, an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a general-purpose computing device in the form of a computer 110. Components of computer 110 may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit 120, a system memory 130, and a system bus 121 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 120. The system bus 121 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus." ISA, EISA, MCA, VLB have long been extinct. Network protocols are also being discussed... This is a patent on a UI element! If granted at all, it should be very short. "Problem - multiple overlapping windows in a software environment make it difficult to find the desired window" "Invention - make all windows temporarily transparent" "Steps to reproduce - Sample code in C plus plus (IntenseDebate hates pluses) using Win32 API with build instructions - (enclosed)" "Patent examiner compiled the code and tested it on a representative sample of operating system prevalent in this era - (endorsed)" Edit: this patent actually appears to be about the Vista Win-Tab mechanism, but I already thought of a different thing because the behavior of Windows 7 Peek is similar in nature.

TechCrunch : Elevation Invests Another $120 Million in Facebook as that IPO Looks More Distant

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:14:39 +0000

Facebook is becoming the global human database. It would be extremely difficult to unseat them from this position. Witness yourself - you are signed in with a Facebook account, not a Techcrunch one. The platform works exceedingly well. I am very happy with the product and yes I would pay for premium features.

TechCrunch : Meet The First Guy In Line To Buy An iPhone 4. His Name? Gray Powell.

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 07:22:49 +0000

His name is Robert Paulson Not familiar? http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=ch...

TechCrunch : Wow That Was Fast -- Facebook Blocks Twitter's Way To Look Up Friends

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:16:53 +0000

Didn't we just have a post where Mark said he's no longer afraid of Twitter? :)

TechCrunch : Chatroulette Enlists Shawn Fanning In The Fight Against The Masturbators

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:34:06 +0000

Online dating avoids a colossal waste of time when there are deal-breaking traits in a person. For example, smoking is a blocking bug for me. Country music is another. It works quite well, but filtering responses is a huge problem and so is accuracy of data. I know how to write, so essay portions of profiles are easy for me. Others are not so lucky so their profiles are generic and thus highly skippable. I like OKCupid the most at this time. Zoosk has real potential, but it's too simplistic. SpeedDate is too greedy (met someone very interesting on it though and she turned out to also be working in the online dating space). Deciphering images on most online profiles is reminiscent of being a forensic imaging analyst (correct the light and color, apply a more flattering hairstyle, remove wide angle lens distortion etc). :) I am also a gatekeeper on a website for models. That means I've reviewed quite literally thousands of model profiles when deciding whether to approve them. Wannabe models often do not have good images so this problem is definitely not unique to dating sites.

TechCrunch : Is Entrepreneurship Just About the Exit?

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:43:04 +0000

Hi Vivek, I enjoy reading your tweets. I agree with you. My ambition is similar to say SAS's as I am not looking for funding and I am already planning for my employees' well-being. For one thing, I am looking to position my HQ outside Silicon Valley, so they can enjoy a lower cost of living and next to zero commute, and thus retain more of their income. We will offer telecommute option as well for those who prefer to remain in higher cost of living areas. By not taking on investors, I can choose not to exit. Investors, as you know, only realize their investment in an exit. At the same time, it is prudent to build a company that is easy to value. My business model is a subscription service. The customer's worth to an acquirer is very easy to calculate as a revenue multiple and that revenue is a clearly defined annually recurring number. On the other hand, I am building this company with easy ability to sell, building business systems instead of relying on unique skills of individual employees (think McDonald's business systems where teens can run the retail operations of one of world's top companies). The possibility of it being an acquisition target based on these principles is thus very high. To be perfectly honest, it's a distraction even now as I have no choice but to plan for hiring investment-minded employees even though I have no desire to create an exit event anytime soon. What we need to realize is that there are two types of employees. There are typical salary employees who join a late stage company or a small business and have no expectation of meaningful equity compensation, and then there are investor/employees who seek to take on risk in exchange for the potential of large reward. Investor/employees are those who seek an opportunity to profit from an exit event. If the company is comprised of non-investor employees, there is very little pressure to exit as they have nothing to gain from the event. In fact, loss of positions is a common occurrence in M&A scenarios and administrative employees rarely look forward to that. I've done my calculations, and we'll start to really realize our scale after first 200 customers (500K annual revenue). That's the point at which I would be able to hire sufficient number of employees at market salary level for 24/7 coverage so I can remove myself from non-CEO/CTO roles and concentrate solely on improving the product and business model. Until then, it's just a lot of work and bringing people on gradually while still working in customer-facing technical and administrative capacities. Unprofitable companies are much easier than this!

TechCrunch : Google Retires Web Alerts, Replaces With 'Everything' Option

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:15:25 +0000

This are not killing Google Alerts. Please adjust the headline. They are changing an option within Google Alerts to no longer include "Web" as a source.

TechCrunch : Google Adds A Background Image To Its Homepage By Default (At Least For 24 Hours)

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:07:30 +0000

Rejoice: http://www.google.com/firefox

TechCrunch : Startups: Poverty is Underrated. Be Glad That Youâre Not Rich

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 23:29:27 +0000

Send me a tweet. I have a few no-cost resources for you :) @wiseleo

TechCrunch : Yahoo Wants HuffPo Badly

Fri, 4 Jun 2010 23:04:26 +0000

The Yahoo deal will enhance Huff's valuation and then Yahoo will wind up paying for the premium it created. An outright acquisition makes more sense. Will Huff survive the Yahoo integration?

TechCrunch : Zipcar Seeks $75 Million IPO To Pay Off Debts

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 23:13:57 +0000

Wow. I'd expect them to be massively profitable instead of so debt-ridden. This exit is significantly smaller than I would expect for a company with a brand this strong. With 400K members they can do much much better. :( Is this a VC-forced exit?

Leonid S. Knyshov's Comments

Qpointment fills your schedule with customers :

Qpointment fills your schedule with customers :

StartupCFO : Turning off the devices

StartupCFO : Common Startup Mistakes

VC Adventure : Preparing an effective executive summary

Digital Trends : T-Mobile G2: Everything We Know

TechCrunch : TechCrunch Review: The Blekko Search Engine Prepares To Launch

TechCrunch : Mark Cuban Dreams Of Minority Report. So Do I. But We're Not There Yet

TechCrunch : The Return Of The Blimp . . . As A Green Cargo Carrier

Feld Thoughts : Bummed Out About Bilski

TechCrunch : Elevation Invests Another $120 Million in Facebook as that IPO Looks More Distant

TechCrunch : Meet The First Guy In Line To Buy An iPhone 4. His Name? Gray Powell.

TechCrunch : Wow That Was Fast -- Facebook Blocks Twitter's Way To Look Up Friends

TechCrunch : Chatroulette Enlists Shawn Fanning In The Fight Against The Masturbators

TechCrunch : Is Entrepreneurship Just About the Exit?

TechCrunch : Google Retires Web Alerts, Replaces With 'Everything' Option

TechCrunch : Google Adds A Background Image To Its Homepage By Default (At Least For 24 Hours)

TechCrunch : Startups: Poverty is Underrated. Be Glad That Youâre Not Rich

TechCrunch : Yahoo Wants HuffPo Badly

TechCrunch : Zipcar Seeks $75 Million IPO To Pay Off Debts

TechCrunch : Startups: Poverty is Underrated. Be Glad That Youâre Not Rich