Founder and CEO Stéphane Doutriaux was inspired to invent Poken by his desire to keep in touch with all of his friends and colleagues when graduating from business school. He realized then what a large task it could be in today’s global/mobile culture to keep people's updated contact information.
Instead of writing down hundreds of cell phone numbers and email addresses that would likely soon be outdated and would have to be re-entered into online address books, Stephane went looking for a tangible item that could bring people together in real life and again online. An Internet hub where they could design their identity, add profile information of the social networks they are part of and decide what and how much they wanted to share.
He packed this features into a tool that allows people to physically exchange that data when they are face to face, without pens, papers, keyboards, navigating small screens or draining mobile phones batteries. In short: a social business card.
Realizing the potential of bridging the online and the offline world, Stéphane developed a new range of products that would allow the distribution of digital documents and multimedia files in the real world, creating an innovative way for people to collect and engage with digital information.
The origin of the word ‘Poken’ is simple: the name comes from "poke" and "token". It's a way to attract attention in the real world, "token" also relating to a small piece of information.
Stéphane Doutriaux
Having grown up in Canada, Stéphanes first taste of entrepreneurship came in 1999 when he launched a Montreal-based start-up, developing algorithms for on-demand delivery of high-fidelity audio over digital cable networks.
Stéphane founded Poken in 2007 because he was "tired of the social network clutter and just wanted an easy way to stay in touch with people, without having to wonder what networks they are on".
Apart from his passion for electronics and innovation, Stéphane enjoys design, architecture and the great outdoors. He works passionately to bring Poken to the world because he wants to revive the meaningful significance of meeting people face-to-face. Stéphane lives with his wife and three sons in Lausanne, Switzerland.