Name: Anton Zolotov
Location: Washington, DC
Company: GunpowderLabs
Why did you start coding?
When I was 12, my first mentor told me, "it's much cooler to be a producer than to be a consumer. You have the power to create your own experience rather than depend on what others provide for you." I read a C reference front-to-back, wrote a basic operating system with a few friends, and have been making stuff since.
What are you working on right now?
GunpowderLabs is building a client-side backend for LearnZillion that allows them to manage their data very quickly, a few internal projects for First Round Capital, and several web and mobile apps to scratch our own itch(es).
Where do you see the industry going in the next 10 years?
I think the next 10 years will be about connecting all the devices we have - cars, coffee makers, thermostats. Look at GE's social fridGE, which opens after 10 people check in on foursquare. With the smartphone and apps we finally have one device to rule them all, and computers like the Raspberry Pi and mobile internet allow us to bring devices online that have previously been isolated.