Blitzweekend, Noogl (0)
Arach Tchoupani to the left, Roger McFarlane on the right
Can you present yourself? What is your background?
Alexis Smirnov: Alexis Smirnov has been involved with software since the late 80ties. After studying applied maths at Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics and computer science at Université de Montréal Alexis has found his passion in creating great software people love to use. Ever since early 90ties he was instrumental in building products from the ground up such as AutoVue for Cimmetry Systems; SOFTIMAGE|XSI for Microsoft/Avid; Enterprise Privacy Manager for Zero-Knowledge Systems. His last project is a software company he co-founded in late 2003 called Pi Corporation. Pi is focused on creating better ways for people to organize, share and access their data. The company has recently been acquired by EMC.
Arach Tchoupani: Arach Tchoupani has been involved in software development since his first summer internship at Tenrox when he was only 18 years old. From the bottom up, he’s seen different angles of the craft of software development. Upon graduating as part of the first cohort of Software Engineers from École Polytechnique de Montréal, Arach looked for opportunities in web development startups. Arach joined Outbox Technology in 2006 and is proud to have contributed to the successful launch of the company’s innovative ticket selling platform. Arach is also involved in starting MontrealPython, a burgeoning community inspired by the barcamp and MontrealOnRails initiatives. MontrealPython aims to raise Python’s profile in Montreal and promote cross pollination among local software developers.
Roger McFarlane: Roger McFarlane is a versatile software developer with over eleven years of experience delivering and supporting a wide variety of products and systems. From the ground floor, he has been instrumental in the design, implementation and delivery of: Netscape/Oracle Web Calendar (years before AJAX style applications became mainstream) and PDA syncronization tools; the Freedom Network and Enterprise Privacy Manager at Zero-Knowledge Systems; networking and online services numerous titles at Ubisoft Entertainment (such as Rainbox Six 5 and Splinter Cell 4). Roger is currently at Pi Corporation developing tools and technologies to help consumers organize, share, and access their personal information across all their devices and networks. Pi was recently acquired by EMC. Roger has an M.Sc. in Computer Science from McGill University.
Can you describe what is the Noogl project? How did you get the idea? What problem does it aim to solve?
Noogl is a online service that offers a better way to do research on the Web. The idea came from the realization that people often use Web Search to create, manage and share collections of links on a particular topic. Yet, Google Search UI isn’t optimal for doing research on the web. Noogl makes online research quick and easy, putting research tools right within the context of familiar Web Search UI. Current implementation can be described as a mash-up between Google Web Search and a bookmarking service.
What were your objectives regarding Blitzweekend? What did you expect from the event?
My main objective for Blitzweekend was to explore some of the UI paradigms that would improve the user experience of online research. Clearly, this objective was surpassed and we ended up launching http://noogl.net at Blitzweekend. In addition, we had a chance to present the project to a panel of experienced judges in front of demanding audience. At the end, we were quite pleased to win the jury selection.
Can you talk us about your experience of Blitzweekend? any challenges? How did you overcome problems?
In a word, in was a blast! Starting with zero lines of code and an idea on Saturday morning and launching an online service on Sunday afternoon is indeed challenging. In my view, the biggest challenge was to carefully select the feature set of the service. One wrong prioritization decision would cost valuable time and can mean having nothing to demo at the end. Focus, clear roles and constant communication between team members were all crucial elements of success.
What is now your objective for the project? Are you looking for co-founders/investors/technology experts?
It would be fantastic to see Noogl widely used and to improve the service based on user feedback. Also in the plan is to distribute ad revenues amongst the members of the team. The project remains open for anyone interested in contributing. If you’re interested, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or follow the progress on my weblog - http://weblog.smirnov.ca
Alexis Smirnov presents the Noogl project, which was selected by the Panel, composed of Vincent Guyaux from Embrase, Matthew Harrisson from BDO, Hang LeHong from Globalex, and Etienne Lagacé from iNovia Capital. Congratulations!
