maryse liburdi
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Making an Impression. The Story of the Mind behind Pokeware.TRANSCRIPT
MARYSE LIBURDIMaking An Impression THE STORY OF THE MIND BEHIND POKEWARE BY DONNIE RUST
It took me longer than I expected to get the chance to interview
the CEO/Chairman and Founder of Pokeware the beautiful
and brilliant Maryse Liburdi. And it’s not through lack of trying,
in all fairness she was very busy with meetings at the White House
with Vice President Biden, Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator
Orrin Hatch discussing patent reform and innovation protection.
Nevertheless she kindly made some time for me.
Described as one of the world’s leading disruptive figures in
technology, Maryse’s $44 million company Pokeware keeps her
travelling across the world to offices in New York, Madrid, Paris, Milan
and London it was a humbling experience to speak with her.
Still in her thirties not only does Maryse run one of the most
important online businesses on the internet but she has also held a
pilot’s licence for the past five years and does most of her own flying,
when she can. Typically, NY to DC, or MSP to ORD. Hands-on in the
office, outspoken about her beliefs and gifted with the seemingly
impossible ability to arrive at every meeting immaculately dressed,
fresh faced and confident.
Yes, it was a very humbling experience speaking with her.
Maryse’s company Pokeware, the visual search capability
software, was conceived when she was still in college.
“I had spent days trying to find a dress that I had seen on television,”
she says, “And the idea was conceived as a means to make this easier,”
A lover of high-fashion and an infamous advocate for keeping
users in control, she went to
work to create a concept that
would simplify the process
of locating specific pieces of
clothing. So, instead of having to
think of the right keywords to
use thanks to Pokeware a user
could simply “poke” an object in a
video to create search results for
that object.
However, this was in 1997,
a time where many companies
were not as technically inclined
and the forward thinking New
Yorker and her vision proved to
be too much for many of them,
the headstrong beauty explains,
“I had just completed a degree in
biology and computer science at
the University of South Carolina,
but this was entrepreneurship
and they don’t teach courses for
that so we had to diversify the
Pokeware offering and anchor
ourselves as a pioneer in a
culture of innovation.”
What this means is that
Pokeware in many ways provided
a significant contribution to
the speed at which the internet
infiltrated every level of business
since then to today and with this
in mind, the innovative potential
that the world-wide-web
provides all of us can be directly
linked back to her. Always striving
to keep her creation up to date
and relevant, Pokeware made
history in 2005 by teaming up
with musician Pras Michel of The
Fugees who launched a remix of
U2’s “I still Haven’t Found What
I’m Looking For”, to produce
the first ever interactive music
video related to the solutions
Pokeware could offer.
And, more recently in 2012,
Pokeware was selected by
experience or a sharper mind.
Having been at the forefront
of the digital era since 1997
Maryse’ approach to business
has always been ahead of her
time and concentrated on
leading by example. She says
that it’s important as a leader to
demonstrate a good work ethic
and that people working with
you and around you will navigate
towards that behaviour.
Embracing Who You Are
The embodiment of the
modern-day businesswoman
Maryse doesn’t shy away from
her femininity. Always a breath-
taking vision, she received her
first lesson in fashion from
her father, who was a doctor,
who strongly advocated the
importance of “Dressing how you
want to be addressed.” Taking this
to heart she encourages other
career women to fully embrace
being a woman and believes that
the persecution of femininely
confident women in the office
poses a direct threat to women
striving to climb the corporate
ladder.
Highly outspoken against
sexism and her support for the
multi-billion pound fashion
the World Economic Forum
as a Global Growth Company
in acknowledgement of their
development trajectory and the
client list using Pokeware include
the Olympic Games, National
Basketball Association (NBA),
Gucci and Elle magazine.
Approach To Business
Known as someone who can
shake things up, Maryse is quite
candid about her approaches to
business and the importance of
self-reliance.
“I get asked a lot about who
my role models were as I grew
up,” she reflects,
“But it always strikes
me as a peculiar
question because
I really didn’t have one. I think
what I had instead was a deep
enjoyment of learning and trying
new things so there was never
one person that I’d look up to,”
She adds, “That’s the beauty
of the internet, it can inspire you,
so I guess you could say that the
internet was my inspiration.”
Now, when it comes to
business, you’d be hard pressed
to find someone with more
I guess you could say that the internet was my inspiration.” “
industry she feels that women
should feel free to express their
fashion sense as an integral part
of their brand.
“When we dress we adopt
a uniform and our appearance
is key to how we are perceived.
Fashion is a multi-billion pound
industry on which millions of
jobs depend, it should not be
undermined or undervalued,” she
says.
However, while making a
physical impression is important
it is not the only tool that she
believes is essential to be
successful and goes on to add,
“To make a great impression
you first have to listen to what
other people have to say and to
try understand the environment
you are in and never be quick to
judge,”
“It’s irresponsible and selfish
to think that one knows what’s
going on with someone else and
what is going on in their head.
Five people can be looking at
the same image but all can be
looking at five different objects
within that image. One person
can be looking at a handgun, one
at a lamp, one at the table, one at
the nail polish and someone else
could be looking at the dress a
character is wearing,”
This approach, of listening
first, and not assuming, has
proven significantly important
in creating the brand that has
become Maryse Liburdi. It is
because of her tendency to listen
and gather facts before making
decisions that have made her
a formidable element in the
business world. She started
her own company straight out
of college with her own money,
overcoming the same financial
troubles that all entrepreneurs
endure, to becoming one of the
people that Vice Presidents and
Senators call for advice.
It has also made her one of
the most balanced and happiest
of people around. A career
woman by choice, Maryse is
looking forward to starting a
family with her husband (Italian
entrepreneur, Mauro Liburdi),
but has some key tools for
keeping herself both happy and
successful:
“One, get enough sleep as
we don’t make good decisions
when tired. Two, make time for
your family and friends, because
they’ll keep you sane and make
you happy,” she says, “And three
don’t leave things for the last
minute, if you’re going to open
an envelope or an email, you
need to respond to it, because if
you don’t you’ll end up with a big
pile of things that will never get
done.”
Enjoying tennis, basketball
and running outside of the office,
Maryse does acknowledge that
she hasn’t enjoyed a proper
vacation in a long time and that
doing so is one of her goals for
this year, “Every place I have
travelled, has been a business
destination,” she says, “There are
some wonderful places in the
world that I have researched,
like Mauritius and the Seychelles
Islands, that I would like to visit
one day.”
What Will She Be Doing For The Future?
While “business as usual” is
a term that really doesn’t apply
to this jet setting entrepreneur,
2014 is still going to be an
exciting one for Maryse. She will
be going to the World Economic
Forum in Nigeria, running the
New York marathon, something
that she has done before to raise
funds for children born with
pediatric AIDS, with a number
of her running pictures floating
around online, and enjoying
a proper vacation without a
computer or phone in sight.
While Maryse may
have found role models and
inspiration in the internet, found
direction more thanks to her
incredible mind than someone
else’s guidance, she has still
become an outstanding model
for future generations of female
and male business people. An
icon of innovation, free thinking
and ambition:
“We all are creatures of
GOD. As human beings we have
so much potential, but we need
to work hard and be focused.
During the centuries, we have
always been innovative, and
today technology is part of our
evolution—a future that I am
trying to contribute to, every
day.” she concludes.
“When someone tells you
it can’t be done, it’s more a
reflection of their limitations, not
yours.” ~ Dr Andy Baldwin
but we need to work hard and be focused. As human beings we have so much potential,
“ ”