Pachikov Stepan Aleksandrovich

Pachikov Stepan Aleksandrovich

Was born in the village of Vartashen in Azerbaijan, the Udi. Graduated from the Tbilisi university and a postgraduate study at MSU. Since 1994 lives in the USA.

Stepan Pachikov to Evernote directed Paragraph company (the president and the CEO). Having sold this Silicon Graphics enterprise he became the vice president and the head of division Pen&Internet in this company. Also Vadem (the senior vice president, the board member) worked in Parascript (the founder, the board member), and also worked in CEMI AS USSR (page of N of page) and the Moscow Computer Club (the founder, the president) and Mikrokontur companies (president). During the business activity Pachikov based and sold Microsoft and to others, several successful companies with a total cost over 100 million dollars.

University years

In this section Stepan Pachikov's memoirs imprinted by Netoskop online media in November, 2001 are given below.

In 1968 - in my opinion, it was on August 21 - after introduction of troops of the countries of the Warsaw Pact to Czechoslovakia we with my acquaintance Izey Shmerlerom painted with night of a wall of the Novosibirsk university and Shopping center different innocent slogans like "Czechoslovakia - to Czechs", "Hands off Czechoslovakia", etc. We were not caught though tried, and we applied different idiotic methods - for example, running away, spilled cologne everywhere to bring down dogs from a trace. In the morning I hid at Raisa Lvovna Berg at home, and left from there in women's shoes (here I write - and itself I do not trust). But, eventually, from someone - and we told KGB to all close acquaintances about our feats - learned that it were we with Izey, but except a denunciation of us located nothing specific.

I was expelled as silly as we ran away from them: professor Suslov teaching at us economic statistics put to me the two behind the two until our dean, Boris Pavlovich Orlov, called me and told directly that Suslov will not hold at me exam even if I will learn the abstract by heart, and offered the help. He wrote two letters of recommendation, to Pleshka and to the Tbilisi university, and promised to delay the order on my exception that I managed to issue transfer. There was a summer, in Pleshka I found nobody and went to Tbilisi. The dean - forgot his surname - agreed to take me, but warned that they have no Russian department of "economic cybernetics" but only the Georgian. But he permitted me not to go to classes, and I took examinations in Russian. I studied in Tbilisi three years and was the only candidate for "diploma with honors". On a question why I was transferred from Novosibirsk to Tbilisi, I laughed the matter off in the Pushkin line: "There once also I walked: / Yes the North is harmful to me". After the fourth year, in the summer, on military charges in Akhalkalaki I got acquainted with the student of physics department Sasha Mzhavanadze, the son of the First secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. He lived in the next tent and often asked me to read good verses aloud - between batches in preference.

All fifth year I was on an externship in TsEMI where Victor Ivanovich Danilov-Danilyan was my head. Under its management I wrote and published the scientific article which provided in the form of the thesis. I returned to Tbilisi "on a white game". A month before the state examination for me arrived from KGB, told that all of them know, and offered the transaction: I dump everything to Izyu - it supposedly in Israel, and to it all the same nothing will be, and they close case. (Many years later I calculated who on me knocked, it now - the big person!) Reminded at the same time that my father is dying - he had cancer - and that it will not sustain the second exception of the son of the university. I refused and when next day I came to offset to the dean, he, having taken from me from hands the record book, widely wrote "neud", told that he "warmed a snake on a breast", and expelled from faculty. I went on Shot Rustaveli, on the right side if to go down from outside to Waca, having hung the head, understanding that I was left without the higher education and I should speak with the sick father. Unexpectedly nearby braked Gas-69 and called to me. I looked on the left and saw Sasha Mzhavanadze. "Step, you what such sad?" - "Yes here, I was expelled from the university". Sasha was taken aback, went out of the car and listened to my sad story. "Well, because of such trifle I will not disturb the father". He right there called from the automatic machine somewhere, told me: "Stand here", - and left. In five minutes black Volga approached, I was brought to the familiar building (the benefit, it was near), there was some colonel, on behalf of all bodies apologized me, I only remembered a phrase: "And in bodies allow an outrage". I asked: "And how my offset?" I was brought to Saburtalo where our faculty was located - the dean waited for me at a door; he crossed out "neud", wrote "otl", and in a month I gained "diploma with honors". My father, the major of the Air Force, in several months at the age of 48 years died in the native village of Vartashen in Azerbaijan (in which I was born in the 1950th), without having learned that I was expelled again.

I did not see Sasha 14 years since then. In 1986 in desperate attempt to pull out the computers presented by Kasparov to our club at customs, I in a reception of the minister faced his assistant Alexander Mzhavanadze. Sasha listened to a story about club and Kasparov's computers, took from me from hands the application, came to the minister and in a minute left with the resolution "Exempt from customs fees". We drank with it to tea in a reception, and I reminded him my first history. He shrugged shoulders: "Probably, but I do not remember. Here is how you Arthur Rimbaud read - I remember. Listen, esteem still. "Drunk ship". Do you remember? "-" no, already by heart I do not remember. Give, I you Brodsky will read – "Letters the Roman friend".... If it had to be born in Empires, / it is better to live in the deaf province, by the sea. / And from Caesar far away, and from a blizzard. / It is not necessary to fawn, to be afraid, hurry. / Do you say that all deputies are thieves? / But the thief is lovelier to me, than the blood-sucker". More I did not see Sasha. In several years I learned that he died of a cardiac rupture.

And as for a question, about "internal recusancy", so many considered themselves like those. I will answer it with the playful acrostic of Lesha Kitaynik written in 1979 on the occasion of my birthday. We at that time together with my friend Christopher Inglish fixed the channel of delivery to Moscow from London of a huge number of "any literature". Here Leshin an acrostic (You already know that I is an Udi):

Among Continents and khinkali Your temple, Udi dissident, Goer of careless trunks; So far tables are powdered Army dust of scarlet tapes, Do not get excited, the joint venture - perhaps, We have in a stock a considerable term.

Naumenkov reminded Lesh to me about history "with a case". To year in the 80th, having typed a case attache "literature", I put it on the Zaporozhets's roof while I cleared away it from under snow, and and went. Somewhere halfway, on Kiyevskoye Highway, it fell from a roof, but, fortunately, I heard "a strange sound". I stopped and saw how I about a case slowed down KrAZ. But I was in time earlier! Having opened later a case, I detected over Avtorkhanov the passport there. "Evgeny's fate stored..." Those years, working in state farm Moscow as the head of department of an ACS ("I implemented at you an ACS, you want, I will bring the reference"), I organized department of Society of bibliophiles and quite actively was engaged in it, distributing good books "with loading". It falls on the same period and sew peak with Chris of activities for distribution of "any literature". And here: the mountain of books - Continents, Archipelagoes, Avtorkhanova lies at my place in the settlement Moscow on a floor, on a mnoga of copies of everyone - and here I am called in Society of bibliophiles and hand the diploma "For Active Distribution of Social and Political Literature". Such big, red, with awards, medals, words about the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League... I in life did not receive more fair diploma. I store it still. Here I will sort boxes with books and I will scan.

Beginning of the career

In 1978 I was left by the first wife, and she sent our daughter Katya to the mother to Chelyabinsk-65. The vacuum formed on site family life had to be filled with something, and it was filled with the company of my friends and acquaintances who came to me to Udaltsov Street on Sundays on a so-called "house seminar".

At the beginning, within several months, Kolya Yatsenko (Kalyaba) told about the researches roles of graduates of imperial Academy of the General Staff in a victory of Bolsheviks in civil war, proving that young and ambitious imperial officers went to Bolsheviks military specialists to prove to old dull generals that if they allowed them to command posts in World War I, then all history would go in a different way. There was an interesting report of Zhenya Poletsky devoted to criticism of the book of Fomenko, Mishchenko and Postnikov "Criticism of the most ancient chronology" which appeared small circulation which cornerstone the ideas of a narodovolets of Morozov were. Zhenya - generally operating with horoscopes which in 1-2 century B.C. became fashionable, and many merchants and travelers to themselves ordered them before the road - tried to prove that the main datings of historical events correct as heavenly konstellyation of planets for the date specified in a horoscope such and were. Borya Berenfeld told about very interesting hypothesis of emergence of life, about some natural minerals at which the structure of a crystal formed some the "micro emptiness" which are very precisely matching in a form DNA and it could facilitate emergence of "a double spiral". Somewhere in the middle of a seminar Volodya Sharipanov on pair with the friend, graduate of Physics and Technology faculty showing promises the mathematician and the talented pianist Sasha Semyonov – to it even suggested to take part in tender of Tchaikovsky - told about "interesting aspects of the theory of music", generally about structural and mathematical researches of harmony and a harmony, it is explicit "calibrating with algebra harmony".

About this our house seminar rumors across Moscow went that men on Sundays gather, do not drink vodka and do not invite women. It was the honest truth: the seminar was purely men's, do not saw vodka, but saw one-two large bottles of dry wine which somebody brought - usually Yura Lezner, and I always prepared one and too a dish in different variations - "solyanka in Georgian".

In this seminar also Sasha Zvonkin, nowadays professor of calculus mathematics of the university took part in Bordeaux, Leonid Levin's coauthor in one of the most quoted articles in mathematics "About the mathematical theory of complexity", and Zhora Pachikov, the current president of ParallelGraphics (a splinter of Paragraph), and Lesh Kitaynik who, being Candidate of Physics and Mathematics and the indistinct sets specialist, was in Paragraph very successful marketing vice president and business strategy development all last years.

And though this seminar was not my first organizational success, but I for the first time saw that I can organize and "hold" a command. But not to the first because in the 1967th in the Novosibirsk Campus where I at first studied in the fizmatshkol, and then - on a mekhmata of Novosibirsk State University, I organized on physics department together with the student physicist Mischa Mamin the first in NSU, the Novosibirsk's first rock group The Black Lines , became her manager, sometimes played percussion instruments, but generally there was an impresario. I then beat out 5000 rubles (!) from the rector of the university Spartak Timofeyevich Belyaev and purchased the only German drum set of Trov in area by bank transfer and in general completely equipped group with the equipment. Later the group became the winner of a festival jazz and rock ensembles "Dzhaz-69". To you not the contract with Disney to sign it!

If Sasha Semyonov working at night in Paragraph as the translator from several languages agreed with the offer to take part in tender of Tchaikovsky, and I continued Brian Epsteyn's way - look, we now with Sasha would go on tour somewhere. And so he earns additionally homeopathy and transfers of c of German and English, and I at the dacha in Katskilsky mountains "pochinyayu the tractor" yes help Matvei Shpizel to collect a hyperboloid with the cellar... But about it later.

In 1984-85, having read the Elektronika magazine and having already got own personal computer (as I got it, another cheerful story), I got acquainted with Alexey Semyonov - the doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, the person the extraordinary, born leader, and he entered me into a circle of people who under the leadership of E.P. Velikhov developed "The concept of a computerization of school education". In two years of work in this command I learned very much.

At the beginning of 1986 Velikhov suggested us to contact Kasparov and to try to organize some computer club. We got acquainted with Harry, and he suggested to give to club a big batch of Atari, including the ultramodern Atari 1040 received by it under the contract of Sport committee with Atari company. It was necessary "finish" to refuse Sport committee them, and customs - "give the green light". Here one amusing story in which Sasha Mzhavanadze, the son of "the terrible tsar" of Georgia, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the republic, the second time for several seconds appeared in my life as the fairy godmother - in this case, the assistant to "the customs minister" happened - and disappeared again. (For the first time he helped out me when in 1972, a month before the termination of the Tbilisi university, I upon the demand of KGB for the second time was expelled from university).

Garry Kasparov became one of founders of the Moscow city children's club "Kompyyuter" and still enters into Board of trustees. I headed many years club, and now in club the president Zhora Pachikov, I together with Garry Kasparov and Abel Aganbegyan am included into Board of trustees.

Some financing - payment of accounts for electricity, the premises - TsEMI which director is the academician V.L. Makarov performed. The capital equipment came to club thanks to G. Kasparov... and to Sport committee. The club is obliged to many people: seriously the academician E.P. Velikhov, the academician A.P. Yershov, the academician A.G. Aganbegyan, the first secretary of the Moscow city town committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League V. Kopyev helped. It is difficult to list all - probably, I forgot to mention many. Yershov Andrey Petrovich wrote the angry letter to the editor of the Tekhnika Molodezhi magazine in which article of a certain journalist Mikhail Kazakov under the name "Display fight" was published. In it in the best traditions of articles denunciations it was written that a certain Stepan Pachikov organized club for the purpose of export of children's brains on the West (too visionary, far Mischa looked forward!) that children, offsprings of big chiefs, is brought in smart cars by drivers in liveries (did not interest the logician Mischa!), a training technique in club poor and children are fooled computer games (computer games in club were prohibited, brains for export should be protected!). Andrey Petrovich very painfully apprehended this article and tried to achieve from the magazine either a denial, or apology, or and that and another. Who was then an editor, I will not remember, but they ignored Yershov as they, however, and Kopyeva, and wrote something that Pachikov-displeyboy tries to shut a mouth to a free press using eminent patrons, but Reorganization, naturally, will sweep away all of them. Freedom not to take away any more. The people will not allow!

About cooperation with Kasparov

After Velikhov stated the idea to involve Garik in creation of club, Lesh Semyonov (nowadays the academician A. Semyonov) learned phone and instructed me as it is necessary to speak with Klara Shagenovna. Klara Shagenovna organized our meeting with Garik. He took hot part in the organization of club, we quite close became friends with it and is frequent, among many interesting subjects including devoted to the ancient history touched on issues of computer character. He knew about my ardent desire to organize something like the Russian Bell-laboratory. When I found the foreign partner for the organization of the joint venture (and it was the "correct" form of existence of business only at that time) - Scott Klososski from Ponka-City, the State of Oklahoma, it was somehow obvious that Garik will be a board member (along with Makarov, Aganbegyan and Scott, later Scott Klososski sold the share to Ron Katz and gave way to it in Board). All board members received small, traditional for the American firms, a share in actions (same as Esther Dyson and Ridzhis McCann received later). However, one of them, on my intermittent error which could not be corrected received three times more, than the others, and it created afterwards many problems about which there is no wish to write.

In 1994, on January 14, approximately at ten o'clock evenings, I decided to do for my son Sasha "The virtual machine of time". This project captured all: Harry took active part in discussion of this idea, L.B. Pereverzev - that which in 1965 entered the word "bard" into use - suggested to call the Alter ego project. I already spent the most part of the time with development of the project at the Californian office, we saw Harry more and more seldom, and now almost we do not maintain the relations.

As far as I know, neither I, nor Harry have no direct relation to present ParallelGraphics. I some time was a board member. But in a broad sense, of course, Harry is related to ParallelGraphics: this firm - continuation of Paragraph which grew from club which president is the same Zhora Pachikov today. And if not participation of Kasparov in creation of club and Paragraph, then is unknown on what road world computer progress would go, but for certain not on Upper Chegemsky (so was called, according to Iskander, one of two access roads - driveways - on section of our house in California).

About the letter to Reagan

I wrote the letter to Reagan in the form of article, or article in the form of the letter, and transferred it to the West (ridiculously sounds today) using one familiar American. I lost with it contact - he appropriated money, even 700 dollars which belonged to Anton, and avoided me. Long nothing was known of the fate of this letter until few years later me were told that article was published, apparently, in Washington Post. It was called "The Iron Curtain of embargo". This article formed then a basis of my article "PC helped part the Iron Curtain" in anniversary release of USA Today. I cannot find the copy of the original letter any more without to burying for a month in old diskettes with MS-Dos'ovskimi files, but the sense of article came down to the fact that import of personal computers should not be limited, and it is necessary to import, on the contrary, them in large quantities. (My close friend Leonid Levin is nowadays famous professor of Boston University, the author of the theory of multiplicative complexity and NP completeness, the person of sharp and paradoxical mind, the author of very unexpected article about the American democracy "Bread and Shows" - in the mid-seventies said to me that the short-wave receivers configured on one-two frequencies should be reset over the territory of the Soviet Union from airplanes. Exactly it is Americans now and do in Afghanistan.)

In 1984 the beginning of sales legendary Macintosh Apple was followed by an advertizing filmlet which became well-known not less Macintosh. It was year of the book of George Orwell "1984", and the roller beat it. The hypnotized, almost zombie people in working uniforms orderly listen to the Big Brother on the big blue screen (IBM means, of course). And suddenly somebody rushes into the hall with brightly shining personal computer Macintosh, breaks the blue screen of the Big Brother, and all sitting in the hall at last leave hibernation. Deification. I wrote at the end of the article that the people doing this roller had this vision: in 17 years the Personal Computer really broke the Big Brother.

Foundation of Paragraph

I organized the first company which afterwards became Paragraph, on October 3, 1988 and it was called Mikrokontur. Organizationally it was self-supporting division of construction cooperative "Kontur". My brother Zhora was my first employee. Among organizers there were several my acquaintances including Anton Chizhov.

I at that time attended a seminar of the academician I.M. Gelfand, and at one of seminars, after my report on the future of personal computers and on a role of recently appeared optical disks, I received the intriguing note: "We can solve any Problem. Dzyuba, Kuznetsov". I met authors and also Shelya Gubermanom and Ilya Losev, too active participants of a "gelfandovsky" environment, and asked what they meant and that they are able. They provided me the list approximately of twenty, according to them, interesting problems which they undertake to solve. From all list I stopped on handwriting text recognition as considered that it will involve the minimum capital costs. However, the scanner was necessary - and I undertook to get it.

About colleagues from Paragraph

I got acquainted with Anton Chizhov and Zhenya Veselov (the author of Lexicon) to year in the 86th as all who were interested in computers, and in particular – personal computers eventually at each other left. Also the fact that the data center where Anton and Zhenya worked, was in one quarter from the old building of TsEMI on Vavilov where I sat, the senior research associate of Working advisory group at the president of Academy of Sciences of the USSR (concerning forecasting of energy resources) under the leadership of the academician M. Styrikovich helped. I then got one of the first IBM personal computers for our group and is proud before it sat together with Yura Lezner. From there was only one small step before acquaintance to Chizhov, Veselov and Borkovsky, three legendary programmers of that time. On PC there could be nothing, but Chizhov's Russifier (ALPHA, and then Beta), Borkovsky's editor and Master with Veselov's Lexicon were industrial standards. In those days the computer fan could not know a surname of the head of the firm delivering one of numerous OSes, but which already very slowly began to push out all others, but he could not but know these three surnames. As in the seventieth it was easy, without having caused suspicions, to check whether the stranger read Archipelago, having asked an innocent question: "How it is correct, the convict or the convict?" - so in the second half of the eightieth it was possible to check easily what relation to personal computers the person has, having asked it about Borkovskogo-Veselova-Chizhova.

Really in Paragraph only Anton "full time" worked. He was one of "founding fathers", and worked the whole last years in the rank of the vice president. Zhenya worked in Paragraph slightly more than a year together with Dergunova's Olay. In Paragraph Olin office was located, and Paragraph was rather "roof" for Master. Nobody in Paragraph, except programmers who were brought by Zhenya interposed in his matter. Zhenya took active part in our corporate seminar (and many spoke at a seminar, including Bill Dzhoya - the founder of SUN Microsystems) and was the person respected in Paragraph, but he was not a member of primordially paragraphic command. In a smaller measure Pazhitnov (the author of Tetris) with whom I was acquainted by Andrey Skaldin, other founding father and the vice president of Paragraph was him Lesh. Pazhitnov and Volodya Pokhilko (the kingdom to him heavenly) used Paragraph as the mechanism of marketing and sale of the products, no more.

While I lived in California, I met frequently Pazhitnov who then worked in Microsoft (probably, and now works who leaves Microsoft?!).

With Anton we in permanent contact.

Zhenya - a special case. I always of it in Paragraph was terribly jealous. Everything, beginning from the brother Zhora and finishing Shelya Gubermanom (of which, naturally, too were jealous). I considered and I consider Zhenya the great person and I dream to entice him from Microsoft in my Evernote company which was created under it and without it almost it does not make sense. The idea which is the cornerstone of this firm to me seems absolutely remarkable, but without Zhenya it does not make sense. So has, but not such.

Do you ask how I managed to involve cool specialists? The short truthful answer - I on them prayed! On all at once, as the jealous brother Zhora used to say, "on certain favourites and favourites". I prayed on Pashintsev, Guberman, Talnykin, Lyapunov, Osokin, Polyakov, Naumenkov - I feel, Zhora already begins to boil - well and on all others which there was a person 80. Now I pray on Matvei Shpizel and I dream to pray on Zhenya Veselov if he exchanges wellbeing of Microsoft for the Gipsy life in a startup.

Olya Dergunova is a great person. I think, Zhenya Veselov when hired her to himself in Master, it already understood. And whether Bill Gates here understands - I doubt. A few years ago on PC Expo I accidentally faced it in a corridor and, exchanging several phrases, told that here supposedly there Olya Dergunova works. She is a great woman! It kind of agreed, i.e. nodded, but I did not see true understanding in his eyes. But will be enough to make mischief! Bill is a great person too, the only thing of what he does not understand that to it without me, as without hands. Windows would go other road long ago - Lower Chegemsky, - if Bill listened to my reasons concerning UI: =) (the truth, practically all so think, I - not an exception).

About Esther Dyson

Esther Dyson - for the Russian computer market played approximately the same role what was played by Miklukho-Maclay for Papuans of New Guinea. He explained with everything that Papuans are the same people. Except Papuans. And it is not really clear why - probably, considered that Papuans and so know it, and it will offend them explanations. When I see our programmers in the American firms, I and hear how they sing in chorus:

Not Papuans we, not - carpenters and! And regrets bitter not at all, And programmers we, spidermen and! And from height we send you hi!

I in 1989 a little bit took offense at Esther when she in the Release 1.0 magazine wrote that "Pachikov - visionary which ryaditsya in the businessman's clothes." Visionary sounded for me almost like "whether the visionary, whether the arguer", and here on the fact that it for me did not recognize the businessman, Seryozha Arutyunov right there paid my attention. Try to tell Zhora Pachikov that he is excellent visionary, but the bad businessman... And I. It was offensive and! Already then, many years later, I understood it what compliment she to me gave.

Esther helped Paragraph and me personally much. Generally thanks to her I got acquainted with all Olympus.

I often hear reproach in its address: here supposedly Esther pushes IBS, and supposedly does not notice us. But Esther helps those to whom wants, on the money and in own time. She, for example, does not invite to the conference all who want it or can pay for it but only those whom she wants to see there. On the - esterovsky - to the reasons! Well and, as speak nowadays, a flag to her in hands. If it fits into a format of the show held by her. All of us - a little bit showmen. Some – it is more, others – it is less.

I here, for example, very much wanted that she invited me the speaker to the East-West a forum, to share, so to speak, acquired (well, not in direct, of course, sense). Does not call. But same not an occasion to take offense at it. I love Esther, and she knows it.

About moving to the USA

In 1991 Paragraph received the order from Apple for the system of handwriting text recognition for Newton. Then Stepan Pachikov made the decision to leave Russia.

• We signed the contract with Apple literally some days before the August putsch of 1991 (Larry Tesler, the vice president of Apple and the Newton project manager, turned gray when he learned about a putsch). We, according to the contract, transported in Cupertino a team of key developers for work on the Newtonian code and improvement of a sensing technology. I began to spend more than a half of the time outside Russia.

In 1992, at the end of spring, after the long trip across the USA, I arrived to San Francisco, took the machine at the airport, came out to my favourite 280th highway and caught myself on a thought that "thank God, the trip came to an end, and I already at home" though ahead there were two more weeks before return to Moscow. Then, probably, I also ripened. B July of the same year I transported family in Cupertino, having told children (it was 8 and 12) that they go for several months. I did not deceive them - we so with the wife thought! But were mistaken. The new office of Paragraph in Sunnyvale required more and more time. Light began to work in it too (Paragraph in general family firm, wives and children of many employees in it worked). At the beginning the Moscow office the collegiate organ under the chairmanship of Anton Chizhov directed. Later, when came out on top trekhmery, the office was headed by Zhora Pachikov. My children became the American school students. The visa of L1 cannot be prolonged indefinitely, and many of the staff of the Californian office filed documents on the green card (residence permit), and then obtained citizenship.

In the beginning stay in the USA "was dictated by business", and then when it ceased to dictate, other reasons - generally personal character appeared: Sasha graduates from college in Bolder, the State of Colorado, Ksyusha is going to go to Columbia University future (2002), Sveta likes to live in New York and in general in America, and I began business, new, very unusual for me... Besides - it became dangerous to fly...

Despite my explicit unwillingness to increase the Californian office, many employees who came to California in a business trip for one or three months looked for an opportunity and arguments to remain to work in Californian Paragraph for longer term and, respectively, to bring family here. If such "traveler" was the head of group or the project, then he looked for arguments to bring here members of "the command". There were different reasons inducing people to get over from the Moscow office in Californian: I will not write about one of them, and the others - are obvious. Practically all who wanted it achieved the objective. Only those who were not going "gain a foothold" in California returned. I think that the total number of the staff of Paragraph who moved to America for a long time approaches fifty, except for ParaScript, but it is another story.

In 1996 we, at insistance of our American co-owner Ron Katz, separated a big employee group from Paragraph, being engaged in handwriting text recognition, written on paper (we called this "off-line recognition"). Created separate company ParaScript LLC, the board member and one of major shareholders of which I still am.

Today the most part of letters in the United States of America with the addresses handwritten is sorted by machines of Lockheed Martin company, and on each of them there is our sensing technology. And recently signed contract with company X will lead to the fact that our algorithms will sort letters and in Europe. The last years the firm was madly profitable, and we invested the most part of money in several new directions. Few years ago Paraskript transported in Colorado about 80 developers with families on full-time residence.

About failure of Apple from Newton

• To that it is a lot of reasons... Main, in my opinion, - Newton strongly outstripped the time. There was not enough processor power of the automated workplace of that time for implementation of ambitious tasks of UI and recognition. As a result we had to make a compromise - to reduce the speed and quality of recognition. The well-known CEO c "laser vision" stated publicly once that recognition does not work, and suggested to give to persons interested his Newton. In 1999, in five years after this episode, Microsoft our Kalligrafer at Vadem for very large sum (to me clever people advised to replace approximate digit which I wanted to give, with words "large sum") purchased and included it in a kernel of the operating system under the name Transcriber. When they began to entice all my employees, at explicit complicity of the president of Vadem, I was forced to leave Vadem (in protest that I am not enticed).

Developments in the field of 3D

About the Alter ego project was written much in due time. This project had two components: Virtual Machine of Time (VMT) and World of Small Planets (WSP). I, and MMP - Zhora was the main ideologist of VMV. To the maximum my idea of VMV consisted in giving the chance to children to travel in time, to visit these or those eras and to live in them. It was for this purpose necessary not only recreate a situation, say, Sirakuz 212 B.C., but also to inhabit their crowds of people and any living creatures. (By the way, we quite intensively discussed this part of the project with Garry Kasparov: defense Sirakuz, the participation in it of Archimedes, military vehicles designed by it.) I considered that the similar project will demand many well prepared participants of a performance. One of a component of a similar time travel were "guardian angels" whose role parents could execute, helping the child and directing it. The MMP project is the worlds, planets created by the people using special means (tools). As envisioned by Zhora, people will travel around "others" planets. Both of these "visions" required development of the appropriate three-dimensional technologies and different tools. Paragraph also focused on it. "Soup from the axe" turned out.

Everything began with Sasha Barilov's "enzhina", then Edik Talnykin, Mischa Lyapunov with group of very talented youth created not only the most effective for PC technology of a renedering"D98", but also special language of the description of the three-dimensional worlds"Language D" which long competed with VRML, but eventually, a clamp heart, we "handed over" it and passed on VRML. We became leaders 3D and VRML (virtual reality modeling language), and our programs of processing of three-dimensional objects on normal PC and our tools (Virtual Home Space Builder) became widely known. But to create even an unpretentious world, the size to the house or though the apartment, the tool is not enough to have, it is necessary to be still and the creator, the artist. The tool can be heavy in mastering, or a lung, but if you have no imagination, I pound from it a little. Zhora on the warehouse the artist - it, using any tool, whether it be the axe or VHSB, quickly and effortlessly will bungle something nice. Big part of users, as well as I, not artists and not creators. I perfectly knew how to use VHSB as took the most active part in development of UI (user interface), but except couple of rooms with windows and wild wall-paper on walls could think up nothing. At exhibitions we or showed Zhora who it is dashing, in the face of the journalists melting from delight, created palaces and locks, or if Zhora was not, showed his procurements, keeping saying, "here, we have one employee, the ordinary chief here, stuck in a couple of hours". Eventually, we understood that it is the tool "for itself" (i.e. for Zhora and to it similar), employed fair number of artists, delivered over them to Lesh Naumenkov and stopped a call "Constructing a coma of what?". At first on this call one Japanese company arrived and with our help built three-dimensional chats. It was scary beautiful and absolutely senseless and boring. We perfected technology of work with the removed customer, and following Disney was caught in our net. We won competition, received several millions, made a large number the most beautiful locks and alladin (disneevets were lost in admiration from our artists). All this was on nothing for nobody necessary. What from the very beginning was also clear, but "the client/customer is always right", "money does not smell", "it is necessary to live", "we, eventually, did that they wanted", "our conscience is pure", etc.

Sale of Paragraph

• By this moment I employed a team of the American managers, appointed the new president who submitted to it and had to direct all business party of firm. Young, ardent Americans, naturally, they had a favourite word - exit strategy (the strategy of an exit).

Here (in the USA) certain local - silicon - the mentality consists that you should make eventually money, and it is the best of all - from nothing, from scratch. And it is possible to make money, by and large having only cast in the lot with some startup.

Children with one purpose - to find the strategy of an exit were a team of the employed Americans. Therefore all of them ran business so that fast to lead firm to the logical end. The option - to go "public" - was studied in Paragraph the first and is even allegedly serious, but only in order that "zadurit Pachikova the head". They understood that against "public" it will not object, and concerning absorption or sale it has doubts. Therefore some time the option about "public" was considered, all business model was focused on this strategy.

"But from the moment when you wanted to make pablik company, till the moment when it it became, usually there passes year or one and a half, - Pachikov tells. - All these months it is necessary to exist too. And not simply, and at strongly increasing speed. In business in general, and in computer, in particular, it is necessary to grow. If you have growth rates less, than 15%, you stand still. We needed money, and they needed to be found somewhere, with smart words - to attract the investor, it was talked of four-five million. Having touched different options, we were convinced that to receive money very difficult and not because nobody wanted to give them, there were just enough persons interested. The matter is that contained Paragraph seven years, we owned unique technologies, there was a big command, and it was difficult to agree to that we were estimated at ten-fifteen million. We estimated ourselves millions at eighty, at least at fifty, but it is not less. And all investors venture, they love firms very young, hungry which were only just formed when it is possible to receive a half for two-three million. Therefore venture investors disappeared, there were only corporations for which it is not the price, and in that the firm strategically answered their purpose".

After some selection of the firms concordant to invest money in us, in Paragraph came to three which seriously became interested in them, and began to conduct with them negotiations: Disney, Microsoft and Silicon Graphics.

On a wave of our novel with Disney, in its culmination, SGI (Silicon Graphics) took notice of us. Hollywood is the traditional fiefdom of SGI, and the fact that these Russians implement fashionable VRML there, could not escape their look. But it though Wild West, but after all not Moscow therefore ran over us culturally, without everyones "gangster acceptances". At first SGI long fed us with promises to invest 4 million in Paragraph and to become the co-owner. When all other investors disappeared because of "a high level", SGI told us what they want us to purchase and "so it will be better for us". I will long remember this meeting. In my opinion, I nearly burst into tears. And how Alter ego? I promised children! I was assured, naturally, that Alter ego will only win and that to whom as not to firm on which computers "Terminator-2", "Jurassic Park" and other masterpieces is made to implement a dream about Syracuse and opening of the Roman Colosseum! We with our president Gregory Sleyton - he submitted to me - played, without arranging, all without a hitch. I broke hands, went with hung up - or lowered? - a nose, and Gregory monotonously explained to Silicone that to Mount Stepana the large sum can facilitate and that partially, only twice.

Backdating I can be recognized, we very much liked the idea to meet with Microsoft, but the problem arose because in Microsoft five different departments and they did not agree among themselves too as us to divide (besides, I have some vague feeling that Bill Gates us not really favors). "Silicone" - firm is much less, than Disney and Microsoft therefore it was easier for them to agree inside. But with us they long conducted negotiations until they suddenly told, you know, children, we want you to purchase entirely".

So we got into a situation when to look for new investors was already unattainable luxury because earthing up of the investor takes several months, and we want to conduct further with Silicone negotiations on investments when speak to us, "it not really", - means sharply to reduce the price. What I had choice? Or I say: "No, put", and they answer: "All right, we will enclose, but then not so much millions, and it is so much. Not for so many, and for so many". Or on the contrary: "Well, you want to buy - buy. But I do not want it. You will give me the price which suits me, - I will talk, is not present-..." So I kind of changed situations and took myself a role of the marriageable whimsical bride. "And how many you want?" - "I do not want at all because I do not want to sell". All further negotiations I took only one position, I even played some easy hysterics when I was told for the first time for how many they want us to purchase.

I nearly burst into tears from a grief and, in my opinion, made an impression of the person who can be brought to a heart attack only one attempt to purchase its firm. Therefore I won this round at once. Further all for me went, and finished me: both my American partner, and Silicone, and my employees, both American, and Russians. And it looked gracefully as the American employees transferred to me Russians, previously processing them, you supposedly do not understand how many you receive and as to you it will be bad if you do not receive it, and described such fears and horrors that to me the pilgrimage began.

So I solved several problems, for me very important. The first - I removed in somebody sense future reproaches "ah you us sold" because they me finished all. As showed further events, my concerns were quite fair. The second - as I was the basic at negotiations on terms of transaction and as I said all the time that I do not want it, somehow willy-nilly the price rose, and eventually we came to the agreement which quite suited me.

All in Paragraph, behind a small exception, wanted this transaction: we were on the verge of bankruptcy; the conflict between the Moscow office and Californian exhausted all; my daily night telephone dismantling with Zhora began to remind slightly fratricidal war, - so my sufferings and unwillingness to sell Paragraph of all a little bit surprised and even frightened. But experts on the sidelines opened "a terrible secret" - "it at it such strategy!". I was "persuaded" the whole world, asked Zhora "talk to the brother Stepa". Came to an end in the fact that I theatrically - but without changing! - said that "you supposedly everything wanted it - I wash hands". Vice-presidency of Silicone was the last carrot which I received in an award for "tractability".

The transaction was signed in June, and at that moment of an action cost 16.4 dollars. By the time of the formal introduction of the contract owing to the stock of Silicone there were slightly less than 30 dollars. As we received actions, the transaction price approached 100 million. As the vice president of Silicone, I had no right to sell the shares when to me takes in head but only every three months. If not this restriction - I would be a rich person now and would purchase to myself the diesel Kubota tractor! And so, it is a shame to be recognized, I cut the grass and I dissolve humus on petrol Kraftsman!

Probably, I answered two main issues why I sold Paragraph and whether I am sorry about it? Why sold - it was the only way to find money necessary to us. But I am not sorry? Yes, I am not sorry because it is sure, sold at peak of in what we were engaged, sold in time and at the correct moment.

But nobody any real money was given, and handed stocks of the company. So shares of Paragraph were exchanged for the stocks Silicon Graphics. What is stocks of Paragraph? It had investors, founders, and all of them received shares of Silicone according to that contribution what they made to Paragraph in due time. And our employees as in any American firm, had a so-called drain-obshen. So except the salary, they had the right to redeem shares of Paragraph at the fixed price, as a rule, very small, almost symbolical. If the firm failed, ruined, then its any actions are not necessary to the employee. But the firm was successful, and they redeemed shares at the fixed price, and then received in exchange for stocks of Paragraph of a stock of Silicone at the exchange rate.

After acquisition of Paragraph by SGI company with the subsequent partitions of my command for Cosmo and P&I, closing of Cosmo, sale P&I to Vadem, swept the people. Recently, including because of an economic depression, some former employees of Paragraph, brilliant programmers and program architects, were left without work. Not that they could not find work at all, but many of them cannot find the work corresponding to their qualification, the previous salary (around 120-150 thousand a year) and to their self-conceit (in a good word sense). Each of them worth its weight in gold - if I had a programmer firm and a financial resource now, I would hire all of them, conforming to the rule, popular in Silicon Valley, "a star it is necessary to hire anyway, than to occupy it - the second question". Lesh Kitaynik thought up an aphorism recently: "Surround yourself with stars that was to whom to light the road to bootlickers..."

Work in Silicon Graphics

• I worked in Silicone nearly a year. I had a terrible salary, responsibility - any. A remaining balance of Paragraph the chief of department of Cosmo - Kai Foo Li managed. In three months of circulation on meetings without which could not live in Silicone also hour I asked for permission to take away to myself in subordination several "unnecessary" Kai Foo of programmers and to reanimate "raspoznavatelno-pen" business of Paragraph. Following the known saying "than dithat would not play if only did not cry", me permitted to create department of Pen&Internet Technologies, added the title General Manager to vice-presidency, demanded to make the budget and to write the business plan. I asked the budget modest - 700 thousand a quarter, and we with Lesha Kitaynik wrote the business plan easily. We together do it better, than one by one. Unfortunately, affairs of Silicone went worse and worse.

Paragraph in general brought misfortune to all who contacted it: Apple was nearly drowned, the Japanese People World was closed, Disney cannot still recover, Microsoft, after signing with us the "avatarny" contract and the subsequent acquisition of Kalligrafer slightly were not partitioned at all. I with horror wait when Bill Gates files a lawsuit against us and will take away from me my giving - Bill, it is a joke! - in Katskilsky (Catskill - lynxes a stream) mountains in an hour of driving to the north from New York.

Returning to Silicone: the long-term successful president of Silicone of Ed McCracken resigned, and the new broom on behalf of mister Beluzo - the current president of Microsoft - began to sweep away ballast, and days my going uphill - joking apart - departments were considered. To us suggested to be selected in independent firm, we began to look for the investor (among potential investors there was also IBS) - did not meet the selected deadline. And us - 16 people, several patents and world-best sensing technologies and ink morphing - sold to Vadem company which did great Tablet PC Clio, but she was not lucky with the president. Plus karma of Paragraph. Between me and the president of Vadem John Dzhao "the Chinese wall" was quickly formed. And though I was a board member, the senior vice president, the general managing director of department, nothing could help me to save any more what I did.

Whether my career in Silicone was successful? You remember a joke about the new Russian: "Vasya, how are you doing? - It was successful!"

Hyperboloid

• In the summer of 2001 we with my friend Matvei Shpizel founded Giperboloid scientific and production firm in the USA. Matvei's ideas on creation of the source which is narrowly focused normal - incoherent - light, but for the purposes of others are the cornerstone, than the engineer Garin put before himself. It is a manual lamp (and also a headlight, a searchlight) with very bright beam having divergence less than 0.2 degrees. The main application - theaters, a show, police helicopters, publicizing of deep-water works, small lamps for military, hunters, fishers. If we take out the American and Russian patents what we hope for, then we want to organize R&D the center in Russia, most likely, in Tomsk and the Novosibirsk Campus and also production at some plants of the former military industrial complex. Somewhat, I want to repeat the business scheme of Paragraph at which marketing and management of sales are performed by the American office, and new developments and production are performed, generally in Russia. Such whether you know, "Russian Bell labs", for the sake of what I created Paragraph. But it is an ultimate goal. The immediate goal - to make a prototype and to take out two patents. The prototype is already ready. The patent is started, but process of its receiving will borrow about one year.

About communications with ParallelGraphics company

• I have some relation to this company (2001) as it is the former Moscow office of Paragraph which Silicone released in 1998. At the beginning of its creation I was invited by Zhora in Board, then I left it. Then tried to enter back. Most likely, did not enter. There now there are a lot of new investors, and they do not understand what aksakal - and also the akyn - they missed.

About David Yang

Remembering Russians in America (2001) I called Cybiko if it became successful firm, but it made several fatal mistakes, including in positioning of a product. David Yang whom I deeply respect and who shared with me the Cybiko project in the earliest stage suggested me to become his accomplice (Zhora eventually became, having invested the money which is terribly acquired in Paragraph in the project), but I refused and fairly shared the doubts with David. I very much love the previous firm of David - Abbyy. It does one of the best, in my opinion, software products in the world. Here whom I would like "untwist"!

Interesting Facts

• Somehow Roofing felt Karachi, sitting with me and group of our friends in a jacuzzi in the city of Phoenix at Esther Dyson's conference, told me: "When you argue about the American hi-tech, you it is interesting, Stepa to listen, and about Russian - better you would be silent", - and, probably, were right.

Awards

Technology and business of achievement of Pachikov were repeatedly described in such publications as USA Today, CNN, Time, Investor's Business Daily, Wired, etc. In 1994 "Who's Who" by Man of weight in the Russian software industry was called.

Links

Stepan Pachikov. Letters from far away.