by Nick Franklin
This is the first in a series of employee profiles we'll be doing to give the outside world an idea of what life is like working at True Knowledge.
Jon Coe was employee number one at True Knowledge. He has a PhD in mediaeval Welsh place-names from the University of Wales and a masters in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic from the University of Cambridge. He has been working at True Knowledge since 2005, first as a software developer and then as the company's Knowledge Team Manager. He has a young family, likes going on Bushcraft courses and worships Ray Mears.
What’s a typical day like for you?
I don't know that there is such a thing as a typical day! I spend quite a bit of my time in discussions with other members of the company. Checking over tests, generating stats, and planning future projects. Thinking about how to represent tricky things within our ontology, cake for example.
What excites you most about True Knowledge as a technology and as a business?
Helping to create a technology that really can answer people's questions -- not just search Web pages.
Describe your experience watching True Knowledge grow from just you and William to the size it is now.
Looking back, it's exciting, but at the time each development just seemed like a natural progression. There was a lot of nervousness over funding and whether people would 'get it' initially.
What piece of work are you most proud of at True Knowledge?
Three pieces of work really, at different stages of the company's development: the creation of the first interface; importing all the world's settlements; building the Knowledge Team!
What's it like managing a team at True Knowledge?
Fun! Hard work at times, too, but we work well as a team.
When did you decide you wanted to work in the high-tech sector?
After I left academia I worked for a small company where I accidentally fell into the role of resident IT expert. I learnt a lot in that time but eventually decided that the only way to advance further was to work for an IT company. I met an acquaintance of William's while playing football one evening and the rest is history!
Name your top 3 questions you can ask True Knowledge.
- Who has been prime minister of the UK since Jon Coe was born?
- When was John McCain a teenager?
- Is the population of Wales larger than the population of Mongolia?
Name your top 3 most exciting moments since you started working at True Knowledge (in or outside work).
- The birth of my son.
- Getting married.
- The announcement of our seed funding.
Give me three questions that you'd like True Knowledge to answer in the future.
- When will sunset in Cambridge next occur before 6 pm?
- list the five cheapest Indian restaurants in Cambridge by average price of a main course
- Is Bromsgrove further north than Cambridge?
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