Retiring Into The Future

"Surc can make life easier"

Michail Kalman knows something about the next generation of remotes and it’s looking pretty good for the rest of us. The new Apple Application (developed from Michail’s need) is sleek, modern and right on time. Get Surc explains everything you need to know in order to make a well-informed decision. The strategy touches on a real challenge most of us face when trying to harness the media air-waves, by juggling too many remote controls, and the end result is a product that will make our lives more organized and a lot easier. Let’s meet the man who admits to being “The Accidental Entrepreneur”.   

Me: Michail please tell us what you were doing before you became involved with

Get Surc. What field of work were you doing before you decided to retire?

"The Accidental Entrepreneur"

Michail: I was retired after forty-five years of working in a few different careers. I had been in project management specializing in the Soviet Navy, also International Banking and textile manufacturing, and for the last twenty-five years, in healthcare management and consulting. Three days into my retirement, I met an eighty+ year-old man, who is still going strong, keeping a full schedule. In and of itself this was not remarkable; it turns out that he is the highly respected and recognized father of the High Technology Industry of Israel. For more than forty years he has been starting and leading some of the key companies in Israel and listed on NASDAQ. He quickly convinced me to come out of retirement and to help establish and promote new start-ups in high technology and in life sciences. So much for retirement! That is how Mashed Pixel and Surc were born.

Me: What is the most interesting aspect of this journey so far?

Michail: Probably the opportunity to work with some remarkably talented and hard working young people in the US, Israel and even Russia. They are an eclectic lot keeping me on my toes and feeling young each and every day. Surc was an idea born out of necessity (I needed a better, simpler and less expensive remote control for my home TV, DVD, and amplifier). Seeing this develop from an idea to a prototype to a model … to have the model reviewed and approved by Apple and now having it in production and generating sales, has been an incredible journey in less than two years.

Me: Did you believe its development would unfold so smoothly?

Michail: I’d be lying if I said that the development went smoothly. There were lots of bumps along the way. We face new challenges every day. 

Me: How involved were you in the product development?

Michail: I had made it a condition of my involvement that the product must be simple to learn and use for a non-technical person like me. Thus, I tested each feature and we made a number of changes to meet those goals.  

Me: How excited are you to be a part of Get Surc and has it impacted your life?

"Busier than ever!"

Michail: I am at my desk from around 5AM until around 11PM answering emails, and networking on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook. Once on in a while I even get to write a few paragraphs for my blog, “The Accidental Entrepreneur”. It is very exciting and no two days are alike. 

Me: You mentioned that you are busier now than when you were working a job.  I

understand this, for when one is passionate about what one does, time seems to fly.

What is a typical day for you now?

Michail: Most of my days are spent talking with the development team. Now that the product is finished I spend a lot of time with the manufacturing team. We are working closely with an amazing company in Israel and Hong Kong that is not only manufacturing but also contributing to improving Surc with a constant stream of suggestions on design and packaging. Since we are very small (only five people), we rely on support from some outside experts who are practically part of our company by now. Since we are in production, the biggest challenge and most time consuming effort is in marketing. I underestimated the challenge of letting the world know that Surc exists and what a remarkable device it is.  

Me: When people pool their intellect and resources to develop an idea there is

synergy and a natural unfolding over a period of time. Which parts would you

choose to spotlight as the highlights during this time frame?

"Involved in Surc's development"

Michail: As you know developing and launching Surc has been a team effort. Every phase is a highlight. First there was Ramy, a remarkable engineer, who came up with an electronic circuit on a piece of wood in the space of two weeks. He connected this wooden contraption to an Apple iPod and was able to turn on and off a TV from across the room. Seeing that video clip was a major moment. That is when we realized we had a real product on our hands. Next we had to come up with a way to miniaturize this to a practical size. For that we turned to the first of my newly found young geniuses in Israel, Guy. He went to work in his apartment and reduced the circuit that Ramy had designed on a slab of wood, into a very tiny plastic board full of components that can barely be seen with a very strong magnifying glass. Connecting this tiny piece of plastic to the iPhone was another major moment. During this time we turned to Lee, our phenomenal industrial designer/inventor to devise a case into which we wanted to put this circuit. Seeing the first model of this case being made for us at the Technion, Israel’s equivalent of MIT and Stanford, was very exciting. I can go on with this a long time, as I said. Of course, we needed also an application to interface with the case and the iPhone. For this we needed Daphna and Brian in Washington DC. Brian set up the technology of the website and database that houses our huge repository of remote control codes that can be accessed from the iPhone with just a tap. Daphna designed the user experience and interface of the Surc application and website. Mickey and his team of programmers in Israel and Russia then coded the design into a working application. Mickey was integral in improving the application’s ease of use and functionality. Working closely with Daphna, Ramy, Brian, Lee, Mickey, Guy and now with Emmanuel in production and Kevin, our National Sales Manager, has been and continues to be very exciting! 

Me: You mention your daughter, Daphna. What is her role with Get Surc?

Michail: Daphna is the CEO of Mashed Pixel and an unabashed booster. You should see the videos she made with her dog showing each and every aspect of Surc. She also has Surc Attacked many establishments. Recently, she got up on stage in front of almost one thousand people in Washington DC and had them rolling in the aisles as she demonstrated Surc.

As CEO, she wears many hats, from marketing and design, to product testing, PR, shipping, customer service/help desk, and anything else that may need to be dealt with on a daily basis. Given the time zones differentials, between the US, East and West, Israel, Russia and now China this is virtually a 24-hour a day process, so she gets very little sleep. I am very proud of her. Of course, my other daughter, Orit, is no slouch either.

"What a team!"

Me: Do you have more projects on your To-Do-List? Are you and your team developing more software or will you stick to just this one?

Michail: We are working on a number of other products – some are an offshoot of Surc and a few that are outside of it. Surc and all our other upcoming products are either patent-pending or under some other form of Intellectual Property protection, but it’s too soon to talk about some of them. We are working on Surc for iPhone 3G/GS, for the upcoming iPhone 5 as soon as it is available, the iPad and for the Android phones. We are working on projects in mobile advertising and some other things. 

Me: Are you surprised how well this product turned out? What is your favorite of

Surc’s features?

Michail: Pleasantly so. I am not very technical. I like the fact that it is so easy to set up and use. I press only a few buttons on any of my devices and I am basically lazy so I can set up Surc with one button for music, for example or for a favorite TV channel or even to watch movies on the DVR. I set up one button for each of those activities and pushing that one button (OR, and I really love this, shaking Surc) I can turn on all the devices in proper order, start listening to my music, watch my favorite channel or watch a movie, all with one button or one gesture.

Me:  Now that retirement does not seem to fit your lifestyle, what do you plan to do next?

Michail: Go to Disneyland!

Me: What advice would you give to others who have an idea and want to see their

projects through to the end?

Michail: Be persistent above all. Make sure the product is something people will buy. Surround yourself with as many like-minded talented people as you can. Have enough money to see you through the initial marketing phase, something we did not plan for adequately. Believe in your idea and NEVER GIVE UP!

Me: Why should we buy this product? How will it enhance our lives?

Michail: If you are like me and have an iPhone and at least two remote controls, Surc will make your life easier. First the iPhone needs a protective case so Surc fulfills that function very well. Apple thinks so highly of our design, they said it ought to win an industrial design award. Once you put the Surc on the phone you don’t need to remove it. We provide a cable to connect the Surc to charge or to synch. The Surc application is free and it is very simple to set up and use. Apple merchandisers said that our application is the best of its kind they have seen. It virtually replaces all your existing remotes that tend to get lost around the house or need the batteries to be replaced. So instead of all those devices on your coffee table just use the phone.  

Michail thank you for spending time with me.  I feel inspired by your story and the fact that you had an idea and acted on it. You have added value to the marketplace and hope for others who are facing the prospect of retiring but still want to be creative. You make it sound like this is just the beginning of great things to come and I applaud you on your ease of manner in front of the camera, for you have such ability and interesting way of telling your story. I hope you will continue to build on your company and stay innovative in your thinking.

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Me: You are the CEO of Mashed Pixel and according to Michail, are quite busy juggling the ins-and-outs of the logistics. How did you become involved in all of this excitement? Did you go to University for computers or business management?

Daphna:  I went to The George Washington University for Psychology and Visual Communications and made my career as a graphic designer, so user interface and experience is something I have been doing for over twelve years now. Developing applications for the iPhone was simply the natural step and one that allowed me to do something for myself rather than for a client. My business partner, Brian Fough, and I had been working together for over ten years developing websites for other people. We started Mashed Pixel as a way to develop our own applications and projects. Michail and Ramy Isaac, who is also a cousin and our CTO, came on board with the idea for Surc and that is how our company got its start.

Me: Do you get to implement any of your ideas during the invention of the products you sell, or are you more corporate liaison with the public and promotions?

Daphna: I get to do it all. Since we are a small company, everyone has to wear many hats. I designed the user experience and look and feel of the Surc application as well as the interface design for GetSurc.com and all the various marketing materials that go along with it. Then I also handle being the public face of Mashed Pixel, but I think that we all do that to some extent. I am also fulfilling Surc orders, managing press, customer service, shooting how-to videos and a bunch of other tasks. We are all doing our specific technical roles in developing Surc, but then we are all also counted on to promote, demo and sell Surc, so no one does just one thing. 

Me: Since technology tends to change and improve rather quickly, where do you envision your company status in the next twelve months?

"Surc has a sleek design"

Daphna: We have a number of ideas for expanding the reach of Surc and it’s current offerings. As much as we are looking at what our competition is up to, we are also looking at ways to set ourselves apart. Hopefully, in the next twelve months, Surc will be available on more Apple devices and also on the Android platform. And we are looking at developing Surc beyond being a customizable and personalized universal learning remote control.

Me: I wonder why you have offices both in Israel and in Washington, DC. Are you working on something for any of the big corporations with government contracts, or are you lobbying your technology directly to the public and the government (if at all)?  

Daphna: I went to university in DC and stayed in the area after graduating. And my dad is in Israel. So it really had to do with where we are currently located and wanting to build the company together.

Me: What events do you have between now and the spring, that people reading this might wish to attend?

Daphna: We do not have any specific planned events. We get invited to local conferences to demo and then announce those on Facebook and Twitter, so you can follow us there to see what we are up to. We were just invited to the Mobile Future Forum on October 25th, so we will be there, doing a five-minute demo.

(http://mobilefuture.org/content/pages/mobile_future_forum?/mf-forum)

Me: How does being a female CEO fit in with your home life? Do you find it a challenge or are you well balanced and comfortable doing both? I must say your platform skills are very good and I believe you have found your niche.

Daphna: Since we are a small company and everyone has to do so much, I don’t really see myself as a “CEO” nor do I really know what that title means. We are all CEOs and VPs and Designers and Publicists and Sales Managers and any other titles and tasks that get thrown our way. I am very lucky that I get to work with talented, responsible and dedicated people who believe in Mashed Pixel and Surc and only want for us to succeed and grow.

As for balancing work with my home life, I have been working from a home office for over 5 years, so I think I finally have it figured out. I interface with people in Israel and the east and west coasts, so the work comes in waves, which gives me time to do other things in between like working out, eating, seeing friends and family. They key is to not do a standard 9-5 schedule (do people even do that anymore?) and fit work in throughout the whole day. I get to work 24-7 on something I love, so for me it isn’t work.

Daphna, thank you for sharing some information for our readers. It always nice to read about a successful woman doing well and even better that it is a family affair. Perhaps we can chat in future and elaborate a little more, as you and your company forge your technical pathway into the future. I find it very interesting and as I venture forth exploring your website more, I am certain that I will learn some of the applications for your products. Perhaps now I will get an iPhone, too.

Please visit their beautiful website and blog by clicking the links. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook, too. Time for you to make life easier and “Get Surc”!