Poker with Chief Architect and Co-Founder Medio Systems Michael Luni Libes

by: admin Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Rating: Ace, King, Queen

by Bena Roberts

After the Blender I had been invited out for dinner with Medio Systems Michael Libes and Roger Davies but I had two tickets to the World Poker Party run by Hands On Mobile at the W Hotel. So Roger decided to hang out with some of his friends and Michael and I headed to the poker event.

Now. Hands On are the company that threatened GoMo with a law suit a while back (but not for them - its all a bit complicated), but we are all friends again and I was looking forward to playing poker. When we got into the event for some reason the guy handed me about ten poker drink chips and um… I started drinking .. quite heavily!

But you have to, to get into the mood. So Michael and I took our seats at the table and I got a bit excited and I got some help from the event organisers with my cards and how to play. I only know five card poker and this was some thing seven card funny deal.

So I was shocked when the table filled up and Michael Libes won the first round millions of chips. I looked at him and realised he was here to play. So I should stop being a useless female player and raise my game.
I won a round a few turns later with four Aces or something like that and I had millions of chips too. But after that I fear the alcohol kicked in and I started enjoying myself, telling jokes at the table getting help from the men and being a bit chatty.

In true Hands On way – I was told off. (Now I have been there before; what is it with this company and telling offs or law suits or what ever else?) I was told to stop getting help and start playing for real and the server (who was female)

um. Well. I suppose.

She hated me.

After that the joy of Poker passed me by and we continued to the bar.

I have had dinner with Michael Luni Libes in the past and it was great meeting him again at our blender and out for the evening. I think it’s because I love search so much, apart from his silence and mean poker face the rest of the night we did talk mobile search and advertising and the vision of the mobile market.

When I met up with Amobee earlier this week Patrick Parodi asked me “what makes a good company”. I have to say and I did say at the time; it is the people.

I don’t play favourites and nearly everyone I have met is exceptional and Michael is no different. But I think I like him so much because you don’t expect him to be as direct and clued up as he is. Usually founders give up control and don’t stay as one with the whole market as they should. But Michael knows everything. I would like to think this is because he reads the Mobile Search Analyst but it goes beyond that.

I would really recommend any visionary or wannabe entrepreneur in search and advertising to try and get five minutes with him to get some feedback on the whole market. But I could go on forever and Annie will probably edit me for being too nice and not edgy so as one branded mobile search player said about GoMo
I hate GoMo; I hate reading it; but I have to

I say to Michael Libes. I hate you; I hate going out with you; but I have to!!