About the company

Opinmind is a search engine with a twist. We scour the web for the opinions expressed by people on anything and everything. We find what people's affinities and aversions are. We find people's views on politics and current events. We also find what people think about products, brands, and services. You don't have to be an expert to be listed in our results. All you need is an opinion.

People come to Opinmind to find what other consumers are saying about their experiences with various products, services, movies and more. It's becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to discern whether expert reviews are candid or sponsored. At Opinmind, consumers find other consumers that both rave and curse popular products and services. We provide the collective candid opinions of the users of the world's most popular social networking sites.

I have two co-founders at Opinmind - Charles Mi, Chief Technical Officer, 27 years old, add I-Heng Mei, Lead Architect, 28 years old.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

I'm surrounded by a team of brilliant software engineers, but I, myself, am not a coder. I'm responsible for leading our business which includes setting our direction, overseeing day-to-day operations, interacting with our investors and, most importantly, serving our customers.

Most notable milestones

• Seed financing closed Dec 2005.
• First round of institutional financing closed Feb 2007.

What's the niche?

Our goal at Opinmind is to organize the vast amounts of content that consumers are publishing on the internet. We believe the value of user generated content lies in understanding the context of conversations taking place all over the web. Unlike common search approaches which generally return posts that contain a specific keyword, our architecture organized blog posts, forum listings and comments into what is being said about that keyword or topic.

What's the biggest challenge?

Our biggest challenge is writing algorithms that can precisely and efficiently understand human language. Natural Language Understanding problems are classified in complexity theory as a fancy way of saying that there isn't enough computing power in the world to perfectly understand human language. That said, our biggest challenge is also our biggest joy. It's what keeps us busy working day, night and then some!

What's in store for the future?

There is tremendous untapped value in consumer generated content. We are working with the world's most popular social networks to introduce new products and services that will significantly enhance the experience of their users.

Best way to keep a competitive edge

Read the biographies of the people you admire. Aspire to great things. Maintain a healthy mixture of hunger and paranoia.

Guiding principle in life

Live your life such that you are always making decisions. If you go through life without facing many difficult decisions, then your life if leading you. You are not leading your life.

Yardstick of success

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. Ultimately, I measure my success against being able to build organizations around great products and technology while enjoying life with my wife, Amy, and our families.

Goal yet to be achieved

Eat $40 worth of McDonalds in one day.

Best practical advice

Entrepreneurs focus on learning by doing, not by creating gigantic spreadsheets or business plans. If you have the itch, get started sooner than later.

Supportive words from a family member or friend on your venture

It's about time you started your own company.

Mentor

My wife is my partner, mentor and inspiration.

What motivated you to get started?

Desire to start my own company. Paranoia that I would be stuck in a career.

Like best about what you do?

I love the fact that we are charting our own course and that we are doing something that no one else has ever tried. I also love the fact that I get to work everyday with the smart, inspired individuals that have joined our team.

Like least about what you do?

I hate that there are only 24 hours in a day.

At age 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was young, all I did was draw airplanes and spaceships. I really wanted to be an aeronautical engineer.

What was your first job?

When I was in fifth grade, I rounded up my neighborhood friends and we picked the fruit and vegetables growing in our back yards. We circled the neighborhood and sold them door-to-door with no idea how much to sell them for. I was amazed to find that people would pay us $1 for an avocado. Our avocado tree was huge!

Biggest pastime outside of work

Golf, golfing, to golf...and then golf some more.

Person most interested in meeting

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (authors of "Freakonomics"), Malcolm Gladwell (author of "Blink" and "Tipping Point"). Economics has always intrigued me and I love the fresh approaches adopted by these economists/authors.

Leader in business most interested in meeting

Andy Grove. I would love to glean insight from one of the men that built Intel.

Three interesting facts about yourself

1. I seldom read fiction.
2. My cousin is a professional golfer (Christina Kim, LPGA).
3. I derive and endless amount of entertainment from Youtube.

Three characteristics that describe you

1. Demanding
2. Critical
3. Fair

Three greatest passions

1. Golfing
2. Snowboarding/Skiing /Telemarking
3. Playing Guitar

Favorite books

My bookshelf includes:

• "The Smartest Guys in the Room" by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind,
• "Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
• "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
• "Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
• "Bringing Down the House" by Ben Mezrich
• "Leadership"
• "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance" by Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
• "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton Christenson
• "The New Rules"
• "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared M. Diamond
• ...and many more.

Favorite cause

I have been actively involved with the United Way as a donor, team leader and community liaison.

Who would you like to be contacted by?

I am always happy to talk to bright, talented and driven people – particularly software engineers and aspiring entrepreneurs.