Shervin Pishevar’s Dream: Social Gaming Network (Part 4)

SM: What was your next step after HyperOffice? SP: I became the founding president of Webs. My first hire at WebOS was a really young Afghan-Turkish immigrant named Zeki Mokhtarzada. He was super smart.

Shervin Pishevar’s Dream: Social Gaming Network (Part 3)

SM: Did you get any investors to help you get started? SP: We raised money from investors after a year. Initially we raised $150,000, and then $700,000.

Shervin Pishevar’s Dream: Social Gaming Network (Part 2)

SM: How did the circumstances of your upbringing transfer into your professional life? SP: That forged in our minds the sacrifices our parents were making for us. The least we could do for them was study. I wanted very badly to make them proud.

Shervin Pishevar’s Dream: Social Gaming Network (Part 1)

SM: Let’s start at the beginning of your story. Where are you from? SP: I was born in Iran, and my parents immigrated to America the first time in 1976. My father came here for his master’s degree. We went back to Iran in 1978, right before the revolution.

Terry Cunningham’s Adventures: Crystal and Coral8 (Part 7)

SM: Which markets are you selling to? TC: We sell into ticks, clicks, and blips. Ticks are Wall Street, clicks are e-commerce, and blips are sensor networks like RFID. Ticks are a no-brainer and we have a lot of big customers. Clicks are customer interaction management and next generation CRMs.

Terry Cunningham’s Adventures: Crystal and Coral8 (Part 6)

SM: You were about to take Seagate Software public in 1998. What happened next? TC: I made either the dumbest or smartest move ever.

Terry Cunningham’s Adventures: Crystal and Coral8 (Part 5)

SM: With all the companies you merged, what types of people made it through those mergers? TC: They were the ones who could get to the table and arm wrestle over the issues. They could then go for a beer after and have some fun. They didn’t take themselves too seriously, and they understood that

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Terry Cunningham’s Adventures: Crystal and Coral8 (Part 4)

SM: Tell me about selling Crystal to Seagate. Did they come to you? TC: Yes. We were doing our thing out of Vancouver. We had grand visions of being a huge company. I remember thinking if we ever got to $20 million I would die a happy man.