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Who's who: Shervin Rashti

The CTO of Touch N Surf said the company was supposed to be a three-month software project. Now, more than three years later, it's a full-fledged vendor with major casino clients.

September 25, 2003

Touch N Surf was supposed to be a three-month software project. Now, more than three years later, it is a full-fledged kiosk software company with major casino and hotel chain clients -- thanks, in part, to Shervin Rashti, chief technical officer.

Shervin co-founded the Los Angeles-based company with his father, Jacob, after discovering that there weren't any other software vendors doing what he envisioned.

Shervin and Jacob were researching methods for accessing the Internet for self-service purposes, as well as voice over Internet protocol. "We had no intention of becoming a software company," laughed Shervin. "And here we have a patent pending on voice over IP. That's a coveted business feature. Users want to surf the `net and talk on the phone at the same time with high quality of service."

Shervin and Jacob Rashti (l. to r.)

Touch N Surf has been in full production for more than a year (the first two years were spent with customers in beta testing). The vendor pairs with kiosk hardware manufacturers and peripheral companies to offer customers integrated solutions.

Touch N Surf bills itself as an IP telephony and enhanced communications company. The company recently won the runner-up award at KioskCom in the "best public communications kiosk application" category.

Man of science

Shervin has an interesting take on the industry. He received his bachelor's degree in biology from the University of California, Riverside. That background, he said, gives him a different method of thinking. "I find myself using the scientific process all the time." Shervin formulated the screen and flowchart for Touch N Surf software.

While Shervin was in school, Jacob was busy running his own companies: Trans Com Network in 1993, a payphone management company for local telephone exchange carriers; then Millenium Telecom Plus launched in 1998, a management company for private payphone providers.

Shervin jumped full force into the family business. Today his role at Touch N Surf is overseeing technology and operations.

"I evaluate the market needs. I allocate the time for projects. I figure out project requirements and have a team of programmers focus on that. Our strength is software, but to make our products useful, we offer integrated solutions and consulting. We don't sell a box and walk away," he said.

Touch N Surf has a network operations center from which it can remotely monitor customers' kiosk networks and push out software upgrades.

Shervin said what sets Touch N Surf apart is that it develops software from the end user's perspective. "We looked at data in 1998 that showed 30 percent of the U.S. population was not online. We wanted to know why."

What he found was that those off-line didn't have the resources or were intimidated by the technology.

"We think self-service brings the means to everybody. And as for the intimidation factor, we developed two-click surfing that makes finding information intuitive," he said.

List of services

Touch N Surf clients include MGM Grand, Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Monte Carlo, and soon, a large chains of hotels. "We provide vendors with the kiosks or put the kiosks in a location ourselves. In some cases we partner with our clients on a concept," Shervin explained.

Among its offerings, Touch N Surf has concierge services with which users can watch videos on local businesses and print out information or maps. "We set up whole business centers, like in the case of Riviera, or just put in Internet access kiosks."

The company also developed a dual-monitor system for a medical clinic that offers pharmaceutical ads on the top screen, and access to interactive medical content below. That system would work in c-stores and airports, Shervin pointed out.

And if that's not enough, Touch N Surf is working on a project that will "eradicate" the need for shelf space for CDs.

"Users will be able to download and burn CDs, and have free time to surf the Internet while they wait. We already have clients interested and will deploy hundreds of units," he said. This project is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2004.

What's ahead

What is Shervin's goal for Touch N Surf? "We want to be the premiere name in software for multimedia downloads and Internet access. We don't sit still here."

The challenge for Touch N Surf, he said, is that there are so many unique opportunities in self-service, the company is trying to prioritize which ones to move forward on.

"We should, theoretically, be able to supply everything in one box: bill payment, money transfer, whatever. We have the two major components, the Internet and a computer. We can provide the content and peripherals and that does it," he said.

By mid-2004, Shervin said Touch N Surf will be a company to reckon with. "We will have everything rolling, placed and operational."

Strengths/challenges of the industry

What the younger Rashti said he loves about the kiosk industry is its rapid growth. "Kiosks are everywhere. It wasn't like that a year ago. Consumers are getting comfortable with the technology. They are less scared. Users see that they can do what needs to get done."

And, he added, kiosks offer business efficiency. "Companies see cost reductions and better use of employees. The industry is only on the upswing."

The big challenge, Shervin said, is educating the public on the benefits of kiosks -- not only consumers, but workers in the places where units are placed.