In 2002 my startup DesignState participated in building the Eye’Catcher videophone for Eckhard Wintzen, a famous Dutch software millionaire. The videophone ran on a mix of C# and embedded machine language, featured true eye contact and supported nonverbal communication in online negotiations. Its purpose was to reduce business air travel.

This photo was taken just as my team finished building the first prototype and conducted a final test. You can see a much younger me on screen as we are testing all the features of the phone in preparation of an official presentation.