SMS
RSS feeds
Reddit
NewsvineStanford is known for its startups, yet few are run by a team of 40 people — half of whom are Stanford undergraduates. CoolIris, founded by three Stanford alumni and affiliates, is the creator of PicLens, software that, according to its developers, “instantly transforms your browser into a full-screen 3-D experience.”
Enlarge
Among other uses, PicLens allows viewers to zoom in on specific photos. Using the 3D Wall function, users can drag, click and zoom their way through many images.
Because the team is so small, every person is involved; even freshmen sit in on executive meetings. The founders repeatedly stressed the importance of their young interns.
“Our interns are not treated as employees but as team members,” said co-founder Soujanya Bhumkar, a 1999 graduate of the University of Chicago. “They bring energy to the team. They all have a piece that they own and run. They are not being managed.”
The team is divided into what members call “buckets,” small groups that handle different elements of marketing, as well as the management of the software itself.
“On such a small team, every contribution you make is important,” said Sarah Arora ‘08. “You learn so much from everyone around you.”
Because of this atmosphere, many students enjoy working at the company.
“It is awesome working for a startup because they allow us to be creative, which we may not get to be otherwise,” said Christopher Anderson ‘11.
As Stanford alums themselves, the founders have good reasons for hiring so many enthusiastic Stanford students.
“Stanford — which happens to be right here — also has a lot of smart people!” added Josh Schwarzapel ‘07, a Stanford Mayfield fellow and one of CoolIris’s co-founders. “Also, Stanford students are very interested in start-ups. It is the first university to initialize entrepreneurship. The Stanford Technology Ventures Programs (STVP) is responsible for evangelizing entrepreneurship on campus.”
Though publicity presents a significant challenge, the team is not worried about getting the word out. In order for the product to be a success, however, the company must expand its clientele to include larger Web sites. At the same time, PicLens needs to make sure people who have already downloaded the program continue to use it.
According to Bhumkar, the startup has yet to spend any money on marketing.
“We get users who give us feedback, and we are extremely conscious about engaging them,” he said. “If you build a good product, it will spread naturally.”
At this point, the company’s advertising is done primarily through various YouTube videos, uploaded by bloggers and PicLens fans.
The team claims that it is more about the vision than profits.
“What motivates us is what we can do for users and change their lives, and that’s how we can make money,” said Austin Shoemaker ‘07. “If you focus on money, you end up on a short-term chase. We want it to be a long-term track and do not want to fall into the money track that a lot of large companies fall into.”
As for the future, the team members plan to expand PicLens so that users can not only view pictures, but videos, emails and other media as well. In their words, they want to create a new kind of Web browser.
“Whatever Web site you go to,” said Paul Doersch ‘10, “we will present it in a more visually appealing way.”