Wes Cruver talks about KZO Innovations
Thursday, June 5th, 2008 by Lisa Singh | No Comments
Some 25-year-olds are just getting started in their careers. Not Wes Cruver. At the tender age of 11, he co-founded a non-profit company called Kidz Online, which focused on video technology. Then, in 2007, after 15 years of pioneering work in the video market, Cruver decided to start a new company that would sell a product instead of services. Over the past year, KZO Innovations has been doing just that. In the following Q&A Cruver talks about the latest news with KZO, and some of the hot trends he’s tracking in software development.
What led up to your founding of KZO Innovations?
Wes Cruver: KZO Innovations was a long evolutionary process. It started with a non-profit company I co-founded when I was 11 years old, called Kidz Online. So, I have been into technology for over half of my life. We founded Kidz Online as a way to pair up affluent suburb kids who had access to technology with inner city underprivileged youth to “bridge the digital divide.”
How did we get from Kidz Online to KZO?
Wes Cruver: Working with Kidz Online was a great experience which allowed me to make a lot of great contacts and get to know talented young people who had enthusiasm and interest in technology. As time went on we turned Kidz Online into more of a services-based company where we were making money selling services related to training and video technology. In 2007, after 15 years of pioneering work in the video market, we decided to start a new company that would sell a product, instead of services. I think that we worked in the nonprofit world for so long that we were just excited to try something new.
