Closer look: Capsule founders Cyrus Farudi & Omri Cohen

These two young entrepreneurs are interested in shaking up the social networking sector

Co-founders Cyrus Farudi and Omri Cohen just released their new company from invite-only beta testing and rolled out iPhone and Android applications to make party planning and sharing a one platform, easy experience. I had a chance to sit down with the two entrepreneurs and learn about their service and what inspired them to create such a product -- long story short: lots of bachelor parties.

Capsule was founded in 2011 and has raised $200,000 in angel funding to date. The idea for the service came from Farudi and Cohen's big dilemma -- too many event to coordinate and go to and no one service that could meet all of their needs.

"One year we found ourselves attending 14 weddings and bachelor parties," Farudi told me. "And it was such a process trying to get all the invites, locations, and eventually the photos in one service -- let alone making sure some of the information was not broadcast all over Facebook, so we decided that this could be a great opportunity."

The private group and event managing service, now with phone camera app, aims to streamline the planning and archival of any event you enter in the system -- with the added bonus of keeping information completely private to the group of invitees. 

Name:  Cyrus Farudi.

Age: 31.

Town of residence: Manhattan Beach, CA.

Hometown:  Martinsburg, WV.

First Job:  Local video rental store in Martinsburg during high school.

Education:  University of Colorado Boulder.

Companies Founded:  Capsule, Flipswap, and EZWay Auctions.

What inspired you to get into the tech sector:  I was frustrated with the available products in the market - none of them really solved the problem I had faced over and over again - so we decided to build it ourselves. 

What is the biggest challenge you face:  Managing people can be very difficult. We have an amazing team, but keeping everyone focused, happy, and motivated is definitely one of the biggest challenges of my job. 

What is your favorite part of entrepreneurship:  Knowing that my actions, thoughts, and ideas have a direct and tangible impact on the product and direction of the company... and setting my own hours.

What would you say to inspire more young people into the entrepreneurship or the tech sector: Starting your own business is one of the few ways to be able to do something that you're truly passionate about. Don't get stuck in the grind - make the leap!

Advice to future fellow tech entrepreneurs:  Good (legit good) engineers are as valuable as they are rare. If you are lucky enough to have one on your team, know that they are your company's greatest asset.

What type of phone do you use:  iPhone 4S.

Three favorite apps:  From a utility standpoint I like Taxi Magic and Red Laser. They are two apps that I have consistently used since downloading them - which isn't the case for most. From a design standpoint, Path is in a league of its own.

Favorite pastime:  Team sports. I play basketball, soccer, and flag football.

Name:  Omri Cohen.

Age:  29.

Town of residence: Manhattan Beach, CA.

Hometown:  Encino, CA.

First Job:  Barista at a coffee shop on campus.

Education: BS in Computer Engineering from UCSB.  

Companies Founded:   tryCapsule.com, DoMyStuff.com

What inspired you to get into the tech sector:  I've been on a computer since I was 10, built my first computer at the age of 13, been in love ever since.

What excites you about your company:  It solves a real world problem that I have been frustrated with in the past. I'm excited to see how our users will use our product and give us insight on how to make group experiences better than they are today.

What is your favorite part of entrepreneurship:  The fact that my brain is always on. When I had a 9-5, come 5:30, my brain would shut off and I wouldn't think about work till the next morning. When you run your own company, you are thinking about it 24 hours a day. Ways to improve, new features, new integrations. Its very exciting.

What would you say to inspire more young people into the entrepreneurship or the tech sector:  Starting a company isn't for everyone, but working at a startup should be. Most people I know over 30 regret not working at a smaller company when they were younger because they think they have too many responsibilities to do that today. The amount you learn and grow working in a startup is amazing, not to mention the possibility of having a big upside if things go well.

Advice to future fellow tech entrepreneurs: Nike said it best, just do it. Too many entrepreneurs are hung up on too many questions and not enough action. Stop thinking, and start doing.

What type of phone do you use:  iPhone.

Three favorite apps:  Waze, CloudApp, Alfred.

Technology/service you've fallen in love with lately:  I love rails, NodeJS is pretty cool too, I feel like Objective C was designed by a masochist though.

Who inspires you:  There is something inspiring in almost everyone you meet, the key is finding it.

Favorite pastime:  I love to surf, sail, golf, and play pretty much every team sport out there.