Kirk H. Knight

Co-inventor/ co-founder Cobaltcard.com patented online and offline stored value payment, acquired by AmEx (2000) then First Data Corporation (2007.) Co-founder iPrevail, Inc. patent litigation support, acquired by FTI Consulting (NYSE) in 2005.

Member since March 19, 2014

About

I am a(n):

Serial Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:

Cobaltcard, iPrevail, SurgOptix, Ripcord Networks

Companies I work or worked for:

Motorola, Apple, Sun Microsystems, Intel Capital, Sprint

Achievements (products built, personal awards won):

Co-inventor of 2 issued patents, a few others pending or abandoned.

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I see many problems. I enjoy solving problems. I'm impatient and tire of waiting for someone else to do it. We bring together a team of smart people to solve the problems.

My favorite startups:

Apple

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

The time and effort it takes to raise capital is number one. The solution is finding ways to bootstrap into revenue while keeping burn rate low.

Most rewarding is that I've been fortunate to meet some of the seminal founders of Silicon Valley, work with them and other brilliant people.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Believing that all you need is a good idea and it will change the world. Read "The Lean Startup" for a better understanding why this is so common.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1) It's an ultra-marathon, there is no finish line.
2) Who you know is more important than what you know.
3) Remain paranoid. You can never know too much because your competitors already know.