Myriad Mobile, a Fargo-based startup that develops mobile apps, has had quite a journey during its four years of existence. As CEO and co-founder Jake Joraanstad illustrated on Wednesday at 1 Million Cups, they are following the life cycle of the startup – filled with ups, downs, wiggles and hope.

This year, things are starting with a strong foot forward as they welcome some new and experienced additions to the team. With names like Apple and Amazon on the resume, these guys bring a talented expertise. And they’re doing some pretty sweet stuff in their free time too. Here we asked them about the new frontiers in technology, favorite places in Fargo, and what they do for fun:

Mark Hempel: President, COO

Mark Hempel joined Myriad Mobile last year as the new President and COO. He’s also the co-founder of three different companies, ranging from digital reading platforms, consulting and the Internet’s first multichannel radio station called NetRadio.

Q: What do you see as the next frontier for technology?

Artificial intelligence (AI) will increasingly help to make data, especially unstructured data (i.e., images, emails, audio, video, etc), useful and insightful to business. Because the AI leaders like IBM Watson are opening up their APIs to partner businesses, AI services will begin to proliferate and provide cloud options to access these services securely and at affordable prices, even to startups. I also think personal assistants, based on cloud-based AI, will expand in wearable devices. These devices will use predictive algorithms and make recommendations, answer questions, etc. not unlike Amazon’s Echo device.

Q: Favorite place to eat in Fargo?

I really like Rustica in Moorhead. Simple, elegant dining with great staff and atmosphere. I also like Izumi in West Fargo. Great sushi and service.

 

Dave Hoverson, Project Manager

Dave joined as Project Manager, straight out of graduating from the Nerdery’s famous Prime Digital Academy. The St. Olaf grad is also a professional string bass player and performs with both the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony and the Fargo-Moorhead Opera.

“I’ve always been a strong proponent of the arts and how science and technology need creativity to accomplish innovation,” he said.

Q: What was one of your most memorable experiences at Prime Digital Academy?

Each cohort consisted of around 20 unique individuals that you essentially shared a development space with from the moment you woke up until the moment you left to go home and sleep. The camaraderie that developed between myself and the others within my specific cohort was something that you rarely experience in today’s corporate world.

Daniel Black, Developer

Daniel Black is from Sioux Falls, SD and has worked in software development since graduating with a BA in Computer Science in 2010. His work brought him to work with banking solutions and then as a Senior Software Developer at Cars for Sale. We asked him his thoughts on the tech of the future:

Q: What is some of the coolest tech you see out there right now? What’s the next big thing?

I’m really excited about self driving cars! Living in the midwest where interstates are long and lonesome, I look forward to the day where I can press the autopilot button and do some reading, take a nap, or cruise the internet. I’m sure we all can think of the advantages of self driving cars, including safety.

Q: Any side projects you’re working on in your spare time?

I’m slowly working on a tool to make smart investment decisions on peer to peer funded loans. A website called Prosper.com makes loans available for investors to micro-fund, minimum of $25 at a time, loans that every day people have applied for. As an investor, you can go on the site and get the information you need to make a smart investment decision; it’s similar to what a bank requires to make a loan decision (e.g. FICO score, income, length of employment, lines of credit)

I want to use the historical data provided by the site to create a decision-making engine that looks at historical data and makes a smart decision by using machine learning.

Q: If Elon Musk called you up and asked if you’d join an upcoming SpaceX trip to Mars, would you go & why?

I have several alternate dreams or lives I’d love to lead, and traveling to space in a pioneering way with SpaceX would definitely be one of those dreams. But I am married and would choose a life with my wife over satisfying my own yearnings. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost definitely speaks to me.

Austin Hanson, Software Engineer

Austin is also from Sioux Falls, and worked with Daniel on a project called Copren. Previously, he helped build Amazon music and then worked at Cars for Sale. He also had a brief sting as Macklemore, which lasted for one day (Oct. 31).

Q: Tell us about the autonomous car you’re working on?

There was a recent article on Geohot (George Hotz) who developed a interstate capable self-driving car within a short timeframe in his garage. Being from Sioux Falls, SD and planning on remaining there in the near future (when the satellite office becomes a reality), I foresee a number of commutes between our two (great) cities. I hope to use Geohot as a resource and an aid in developing my own self-driving “commuter” car to mitigate the time lost. With that being said, Geohot is brilliant and I’ll have my work cut out for me but I’m hopeful in having something working!

Q: What is the next frontier for technology in your opinion?

I believe Augmented Reality (AR) will be define the next technology era. Something akin to the “Metaverse” in Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash will become a reality and change how we all live our lives. Google’s Glass was a start but didn’t execute correctly by not fully augmenting a user’s vision. Microsoft’s HoloLens should garner a lot more attention and open up an entire new ecosystem.

Q: You’ve worked in Silicon Valley as well – what are your thoughts on the slowly developing “Silicon Prairie”?

I’m excited about it! The midwest is appealing for many, many reasons but technology has never been high on the list. That’s changing and it means better jobs and opportunities for everyone here. That said, hiring is the biggest problem for any technology company. It’s difficult to find great talent wherever you’re at – but the midwest has it the hardest. Fortunately, we have a lot of great universities in the area that are helping us solve this problem (go SDSU…ok, and NDSU!).

The midwest has a very powerful card up its sleeve though – its people. Midwesterners are among the best people in the world. We’re friendly, tenacious and hard working and once you live here, it’s tough to leave.

Derick Hermanson, Web Software Engineer

Derick Hermanson spent time at Discovery Benefits, Appareo, and a few other tech companies before joining Myriad. He’s an MSUM grad, (but thankfully, claims to never have stolen a Cobber beanie.) We asked him his thoughts on the Fargo tech community:

Q: What are some of the pros/cons of the tech scene here in Fargo?

I’ve been fortunate enough to work at a few different companies in Fargo and interact with some very talented people in the software community. Every company has their own culture. I think it can take a new developer a while to learn the type of culture and team setting that they will thrive in. The great thing about Fargo is that there are so many opportunities for someone with experience who is passionate about what they do.

I think an area the software scene in Fargo could grow is by having more regular “community meetups”. There’s so many different things going on in the software industry right now. It would be great if developers with similar interests could get together on a regular basis to share knowledge with one another.

Adam Wendorf, Director of Finance

Adam is a Wisconsin native who came to the FM area for Concordia (Go Cobbers). He comes from a long line of accounting positions at everywhere form Target to Otter Tail Corp., and now brings his expertise to Myriad.

What is currently one of the coolest apps that’s on your phone right now?

Good question, I would have to say there are a few, but nothing real spectacular …Google maps/earth, RunKeeper, and also TuneIn Radio

Who was your favorite professor at Concordia?

One of my favorite professors was Dr. Forde (Mathematics). He had such great energy and passion about him, it was contagious!