Meet Eyeware co-founder and COO Serban Mogos and learn how Star Trek influences his leadership style

19.06.2020 16:03, Isabelle Mitchell

The next Venture Leader Technology 2020 we want to introduce to you is Serban Mogos, the co-founder and COO of Eyeware, the eye tracking software for consumer applications. Learn more about what roles science-fiction and sriracha sauce play in his life and what he expects from the Venture Leaders experience.

In October, the Venture Leaders Technology 2020 will embark on their week-long roadshow to accelerate their expansion into the US market and build a business network through meetings with top-notch investors and industry leaders in Silicon Valley. To shorten the waiting time, we will introduce you to the members of the Swiss National Startup Team. We asked each entrepreneur to complete a short profile and choose four questions from a questionnaire about their personal and professional life: 

Name: Serban Mogos
Job title: COO of Eyeware
Location:  Martigny
Nationality: Romanian
Graduated from: Carnegie Mellon University (PhD)
Number of employees: 20 (as of 06/2020) 
First touchpoint with Venturelab: Venture Kick Stage 1 in 2015 

“Eyeware’s vision is to enable machines to interact with us in a more natural and intuitive way: With our core technology, we can enable everyday devices, such as phones, computers, and cars, to understand our attention, engagement, and interest.”

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
Eyeware is a research spin-off resulting from the work that my co-founder Kenneth Funes did during his PhD at EPFL and Idiap Research Institute. His research focus was on developing eye tracking methodologies for general consumer use that do not require expensive hardware, unlike most of the solutions on the market do. Kenneth realized early on the potential of eye tracking technology to change the way we interact with all kinds of devices and improve our lives. We met toward the end of his PhD; I shared his vision for the future of human-computer interaction, and we started working together to transform the research project into a product/company, which was incorporated as Eyeware in September 2016.

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Technology roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
We are now actively fundraising for our second round, targeting to close USD 5 million until the end of the year. The VL roadshow is a great opportunity to meet top-level US investors to join us in this journey to redefine the way we interact with our computers. The timing is perfect, and we are very excited to start new partnerships. At the same time, we are expanding our commercial activities. In 2020, the focus has been on East Asia—Japan, South Korea, and China. Growing our presence in the US is a priority for 2021, and the roadshow can kick-start that.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a founder? 
Each founder story is unique, so I would like to be careful with the generalization here. From my experience, I would say the biggest challenges revolve around the aspect of control and lack thereof. The early stages of a company are very dynamic, very fragile, and success and failure can depend on a client or investor saying “yes” or “no.” In a rather paradoxical way, entrepreneurs are inclined to want close control of their business, yet they have to operate in a world that is mostly outside of their control. 

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a founder? 
Following the thought from before, founders get rewarded when they focus their attention on the things they can control: growing a healthy team that shares the same values, building an awesome product that you can be proud of, developing long-lasting business relationships with mutual respect and trust. My journey with Eyeware so far has been educational, humbling, exhausting, demoralizing, and yet very exhilarating. And I am sure there is more to come!

What is your favorite movie or show and why?
Close friends know me as a big Trekkie. The Star Trek TV series had an influential role in defining my core values, very likely because I watched it at a key moment in my life for personality development, at the end of high school, beginning of university. Behind the sci-fi theme, it includes powerful lessons on leadership, team management, dealing with ethical dilemmas, public policy, and technology.

What is always in your fridge?
Sriracha sauce—you cannot go wrong with it.

Last but not least, can you show us your workplace? 
Here is a photo from when we moved into our new office in January, before the COVID-19 restrictions. 


For more information and updates on Eyeware and the Venture Leaders Technology, follow the Venture Leaders Technology 2020 team with #VleadersTech on social media or subscribe to our newsletter. 

This year’s Venture Leaders Technology roadshow to Silicon Valley is supported by DPD, Kellerhals Carrard, Rothschild & Co Bank, Canton de Vaud, EPF Lausanne, and ETH Zurich.