Mike Knapp is a tech innovator and serial entrepreneur who consistently turns groundbreaking ideas into impactful products. From inventing the Gmail "Did you mean to attach?" feature to co-founding Shoes of Prey and leading Google's Task Mate, Mike's career exemplifies innovation at scale. His unique blend of technical expertise and business acumen has driven success in both startups and tech giants.
As a neurodivergent leader, Mike champions diversity in tech, inspiring audiences to harness unique perspectives for problem-solving. With his insights on AI integration and future tech trends, Mike empowers organizations to navigate the rapidly evolving digital landscape, leaving audiences energized and equipped to drive meaningful change.
LESSONS FROM A FAILED STARTUP
SELECTED PROJECTS
"Did You Forget to Attach?"
Invented the "Did you forget to attach?" feature in Gmail on my first day at Google in 2005. A simple idea that deeply resonated with some users!
Co-Founded Shoes of Prey
Created the core technology enabling women to design custom shoes. As CTO, I wrote much of the initial code before hiring and managing our 10-person engineering team.
Built a Shoe Factory in China
Spent approximately 3 years in China overseeing the construction of our 150+ person factory. An incredible learning experience, starting from scratch in shoe manufacturing!
Voice-Only Social Network
Launched three iterations of Mottle, a voice-only social network, after leaving Shoes of Prey. Gained valuable insights but missed team collaboration, leading to my return to Google.
Co-Founded Task Mate at Google
Won a pitch competition within 6 months of rejoining Google, leading to the creation of Task Mate. This experimental product paid users for completing small tasks on their phones, such as translating phrases in under-resourced languages. Launched in India, Mexico, and Kenya, I led a team of approximately 50 people.
Custom Chatbots for Business
Left Google after 4 years to build a platform for creating custom chatbots for business websites, utilizing the Mottle.com domain. The business continues to operate today.
Manual Tagger for Image Datasets
Developed Candy Machine, an open-source software for manual tagging of image datasets, released in 2024. This project stems from my fascination with generative AI's potential, particularly in building custom models for business applications.
Drag-and-Drop File Transfer Tool
Created Beamhole, a simple drag-and-drop file transfer tool, after experiencing frustration with the lack of such a tool on my first Windows machine in 20 years.
AI Workshops for Executives and Teams
Leveraging my diverse AI experiments over the past 2 years, I now conduct workshops for teams unsure where to start with AI. If interested, please get in touch.
Get in Touch
Have a paid speaking, consulting or coaching opportunity?
Have a paid speaking or workshop request? Contact Joel at joel.sloane@icmi.com.au
Have a consulting or coaching resquest? Email me