BizSpark Startup of the Day - Quilink
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The BizSpark startup of the day is BEST IT Solutions LTD (Quilink), based in Israel. Below you will find an interview with Yevgeny Safovich, CEO and Co-Founder of Quilink. All the best to them and congratulations for being the startup of the day!
Website: www.quilink.com
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Tell us who you are and your role in the company:
My name is Yevgeny Safovich and I am the CEO and co-founder of Quilink.
What did you do before creating your company?
I have over 14 years of experience in the field, specializing in e-collaboration. In my last role before Quilink I had a pleasure of managing a group of brilliant people in Comverse. We were responsible for all Microsoft related technologies in IT department, developing large scale distributed enterprise solutions. I hold a degree of B.Sc. in electrical engineering from Technion – Israeli Institute of Technology.
How do you feel being the most promising ‘Startup of the Day’ per Microsoft BizSpark?
I am very happy that Microsoft has recognized the potential of Quilink, and nominated us the most promising startup of the day!
We carefully designed Quilink to perfectly integrate into the Microsoft environment and together with other Microsoft products provide a complete solution for Contacts Management. Therefore this recognition by Microsoft is an important milestone for us.
What is your company’s mission?
Our mission is simplify and enhance connections between people and businesses worldwide, by keeping their contacts always at-hand and up-to-date.
In 140 characters or less, tell us what your company does:
Quilink brings an innovative solution for search, sharing and organization of contacts for businesses and private users worldwide.
How did you get the idea for your company?
I believe that contacts are one of the most valuable assets of any person and even more so for businesses. However in many years of our careers, both my partner Ronen Abramov and I, have seen that companies are lacking the tools to properly handle those assets.
Companies and people, even the most disciplined and punctual ones, keep losing tracks of their contacts. Employees are coming and leaving, people are constantly changing their phones and emails addresses, and connections are lost. This is how we set ourselves a mission to improve connections both for business companies and private people.
Tell us about your funding history. Are you currently looking for funding? If so, how much?
Till today Quilink was completely funded by the founders. We wanted to bring to the market a working product that will speak for itself and only then seek an investment. Now that we have a working product and customers that like our solution, we are ready for the next step – massive deployment, and are now seeking funding for this purpose. I’ll be happy to provide more details to potential investors.
How many employees do you have? How many developers?
We have 3 employees actively working for the company and a couple of subcontractors working on-demand. Up until now most of the development was done by us – two founders.
Are you hiring?If yes, what are you hiring for and where?
We are not hiring at the moment.
Which platform are you building on?Why?
Quilink is currently based on newest Microsoft platforms, tools and technologies, such as .NET 4.0, Windows Azure Services, Visual Studio 2010. We chose those tools and platforms to take advantage of the existing R&D knowledge and to reduce time-to-market.
In fact we are currently preparing a success story together with Microsoft describing how Microsoft Windows Azure cloud helped us to rollout out our solution to the market. Looking backwards, I believe it was a good choice.
Where do you see opportunities today in the Software/Internet area?
Communication and sharing of information is one of the most significant aspects in our lives. Nowadays, that people communicate via numerous channels, many have several mobile phones, emails, multiple social networks, etc., the technology has the opportunity to help us keep our connections alive and expand them. I think that one of the most important opportunities in the Software/Internet era is embracing the concept of SAAS. This model allows businesses all over the world to provide their services to practically unlimited amount of customers, making the world more connected and increasing business opportunities.
I believe that the future will bring us solutions integrating software/internet naturally into our lives and allowing people to expand their neural networks by having more and more people among their allies, partners and - most importantly - friends.
What do you think about the BizSpark Program?
I was excited to discover that Microsoft has a program “exactly for us” - a program that helps companies in the beginning of their way. It is really a win-win initiative for all: for the start-ups – helping them to succeed, for Microsoft – growing the customer base and attracting new developers to their platforms, and for the industry as a whole – bringing new jobs, new technologies and ideas.
Do you have any advice for young Software entrepreneurs?
Let your dreams take you to the sky, but remember to bind your legs to the ground. From my experience, if you have a great dream that you are committed to achieving, there is really nothing that you can’t accomplish. However it is also important to build that dream step by step, understanding how exactly you are going to reach each stair of the ladder towards you dream.
Who’s your role model?
Patrizio Paoletti – one of the greatest educators in the world encouraging constant personal evolution.
What’s the ONE THING you would like readers to take away from this interview?
Visit Quilink at: https://www.quilink.com
Published: 8/13/2010 9:31 AM
Company: Quilink