When I launched CyberSynchs in 2008, I wanted to build a company that would challenge the economic depression and provide much needed services. What I didn’t expect was that in the first year I would be able to manage the entire business from my iPhone.
Table of Contents
Escape from my pocket
Launching CyberSync out of my pocket came naturally. As any entrepreneur knows, once you start a new company, life moves pretty fast. Staff are hired, ideas are turned into products, and, in fact, the days become blurry as events unfold.
What have we done
My company is developing a proprietary universal data synchronization platform. Simply put, we help consumers centrally back up and manage their contacts, email, calendars, photos, ringtones and other files wirelessly. Users then go online to manage their data. Throughout the development period, friends and business partners advised me to buy a Mac Pro and do business with it. It was, as several people told me, “important.” However, CyberSynchs was a virtual company at the time. We didn’t have an office, just a development team, a few executives, and everyone was working virtually and having meetings at a local coffee shop.
Many meetings
The development of the platform required a lot of work. I ran around Manhattan for meetings, visits to developers, and dealt with the controlled chaos of starting a business. In hindsight, if I had been tied to the office it would have delayed our success given that I needed to be everywhere and ready to go.
The “Ah-ha” moment came one Friday afternoon when I realized that I completed the weekly tasks simply by using the smartphone that I put in my pocket every morning. The tables were read, contracts with partners were checked and approved, letters were written and edited directly from the hands. Mac Pro could wait.
Travel anywhere – no chains
Unlike many entrepreneurs, I was not tied to an expensive New York office. I could travel where and when I needed; review documents in the subway on the outskirts or answer the call of a reporter from a coffee shop in the city center. I was free at the same time and at work, wherever I go.
This realization that a business can be successfully run from a jacket pocket has led to other understandings of what we not needed at the time. Phone systems, desk rentals, and VPNs can wait until the time is right.
Working in a virtual office
Our virtual office period culminated in the choice of CyberSynchs as a Sun Microsystems partner. After receiving an invitation from Sun to the prestigious JavaOne Expo in San Francisco, I was able to review and mark up the new global partnership agreement, as well as send the final version to my lawyer, all from the showroom floor using my smartphone.
When CyberSynchs received Series A funding from Momos Capital, the entire deal was orchestrated – on my part – out of my jacket pocket. Everything from conference calls to agreements was handled through a smartphone.
Now in the office
Today, CyberSynchs is finally back in the office. Our first round of funding helped us transform from a virtual to a physical company based in New York’s Flatiron neighborhood. Our partnership with Sun Microsystems has grown into an agreement whereby CyberSynchs is now included in Sun’s JavaFX technology, which means we will be pre-loaded on over 850 million computers worldwide and also available for purchase at Store.Java.com. A separate agreement has been concluded with Samsung, the details of which will be announced shortly. We have come a long way in twelve months and we are proud of it.
These days I spend more time in our new offices with a computer on my desk. The days of out-of-pocket business are fading fast as our staff grows and our offerings expand. These days I am creating a new wonderful technology that will allow me to optimize my time and efforts. In the first year of operation, we have transformed CyberSynchs from a small startup into a partnership with global brands to integrate our solutions into billions of devices around the world.
Amos Winbush is the under-thirty CEO of CyberSynchs.
Related Post: How to Start a Nacho Business
