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,

“ ”