Stepan Pachikov: EverNote Web 2.0 Perfect Mobile Storm To Hit in 2008, INTERVIEW
On the heels of Google’s big $10 million mobile Android development push, Yahoo is going mobile with Asia Pacific operators in a big way.Who else has BIG mobile ambitions? Stepan Pachikov’s EverNote, much more than a “a complete note management solution.”
Mobile information overload? NO PROBLEM, You will soon be able to “outsource your brain,” thanks to EverNote, Phil Libin, CEO, announced to me.
Libin recently took over the helm of EverNote to lead the impending mass consumer launch of the high-technology “electronic ink” startup with a storied history. I heard the EverNote story, first hand, from the man who (metaphorically) wrote it, Stepan Pachikov, Ph.D. and Chief Product Architect, over lunch in New York City, a long (and enjoyable) lunch.
When I began our conversation by asking Dr. Pachikov for a two sentence overview of the goal of EverNote, the USSR-born scientist told me it is important to start at the beginning, the very beginning: Russia circa 1984. Among his many technological accomplishments, Pachikov is particularly proud of founding the first computer club in his native Russia, in collaboration with Gary Kasparov.
Pachikov has also had considerable financial success, founding, building and subsequently selling handwriting-recognition software companies and technology to large corporations.
Pachikov founded ParaGraph in 1989 with a $150,000 investment that led to a 400 times cash-to-cash return by a SGI acquisition in 1997 and he founded ParaScript in 1996, which now powers address recognition for all USPS mail. Pachikov’s technology trackrecord in the 1990’s includes: the first cursive handwriting for scanned images and natural handwriting recognition for digital ink and leadership in 3D VR and VRML. Pachikov developed three recognition technologies available today on the market: Calligrapher, Microsoft Transcriber and EverNote riteScript.
At EverNote, the Pachikov mission is now more than a technological or commerical one: He (really) wants to change the world, by providing a universal ”extension of human memory.” Pachikov is bolstered in his vision by an Evernote R & D team “with over 135 years combined experience.”
When Pachikov says he is not in it for the money, it rings true. CEO Libin, however, has been brought in to focus on the big money potential that a world-changing application ought to yield. The goal of EverNote is to profitably “offer an essential software service that will help millions of people manage their daily information overload.”
Since the inital $6 million EverNote venture funding 18 months ago, EverNote has achieved many milestones:
Released two major versions of EverNote desktop for Windows,
Captured over 60,000 active users,
Developed beta versions of smart phone and Web platforms,
Signed major distribution partnerships with Hitachi, Lexar, Fujitsu, Wacom, Toshiba, SanDisk…
EverNote is now poised to unleash a Web 2.0 mass consumer perfect storm to ring in the New Year: Proprietary technology, scalable traction and a business model.
EverNote is set to launch its mass-market service in the first quarter of 2008 by adding mobile, Web and Macintosh clients to its existing Windows software, Libin told me. The aim is to make EverNote more accessible and appealing to a large audience; Two million active users by 2009 is the plan.
Libin is driving a two-prong growth strategy: Continuation of distribution via traditional partnerships and viral marketing with social networking platforms such as Facebook and Google’s Social APIs. Monetization will also take multiple forms: Premium subscription offerings and advertising-supported free services.
EverNote is up against formidable competition in the broadly defined “note-taking”category, from the likes of Microsoft OneNote and Google Notebook, but is ready for the challenge.
Pachikov told me EverNote addresses broader human needs than single platform, (not so) simple “note-taking” applications: “The big players make complicated systems that require time and planning to use effectively.”
Libin hails a three-prong EverNote competitive value proposiiton:
1) Focus on instant, effortless capturing,
2) Unmatched recognition and search quality,
3) Access-from-anywhere service model.
EverNote wants to turn each mobile phone into a “universal capturing device.” But, EverNote users won’t view their cell phones as independent platforms for “small” applications, rather as integrated parts of their overall information lifestyle, Pachikov underscored.
EverNote is a liftetime information utility that lets users capture, recall and share memories. Since EverNote works from any mobile device or PC, the long-term value proposition transcends the short expected lifteime of a typical phone; EverNote service lets users capture and access their memories from anywhere and ties mobile devices with desktop and Web clients, thereby increasing the value of each device. Consumers know that their current mobile device is only a temporary part of their lives, but the EverNote service will be forever. EverNote servers continuously process all data captured through recognition engines, which understand and serach through information stored in many types of media files.
In other EverNote words, as Pachikov demoed for me, the next time I am having dinner at a bistro in Paris and enjoying a good bottle of French wine, all I have to do is snap a picture of the wine bottle label with my camera phone, and that “memory” instantly becomes part of the EverNote service.
EverNote then becomes my “memory extension” by enabling me, years later, to quickly recall that label by searching for any word in the photo, the geographical location of the bistro, the approximate time, or by a myriad of other attributes, Pachikov illustrated.
I asked Pachikov if he believed ”outsourcing” brains and/or memories to outsourced third party servers would necessarily be a good thing. After all, personal privacy and company longevity concerns are but two issues that immediately come to mind.
Founder Pachikov’s “zeal” for making mobile devices an extension of human memory can, nevertheless, not be contained.
CEO Libin assured me EverNote has got its privacy bases covered, so people around the world can safely and securely “Capture what they like and recall it when they need it,” thanks to EverNote, coming to the Web and mobile devices soon.
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