Michail Kalman

Michail Kalman is the Board Chair and first angel investor of Mashed Pixel, Inc., a US-incorporated startup that conducts its R&D in Israel. According to the company's own materials, he is "a business executive and entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in a variety of industries, including international banking, healthcare and manufacturing," having worked across start-ups, growing enterprises, and turnaround situations. He is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, DC — consistent with the company's DC headquarters and his +1 (202) contact number.

Mashed Pixel was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Washington, DC, with product development based in Israel (Haifa/Tel Aviv). The company was founded and led by Daphna Kalman (President, CEO, Secretary and Creative Director), who has more than a decade of experience in graphic, UI, and multimedia design; Michail Kalman came in as the company's first angel investor and board chairman, effectively seeding the venture. The broader team has included Brian Fough and Ramy Isaac.

The company's flagship product was Surc, a patent-pending protective iPhone case with an embedded infrared (IR) emitter that, paired with a free companion app, turned the phone into a fully programmable universal learning remote. Announced in late 2010 with pre-orders at an MSRP of $69.95 and Q1 2011 delivery, Surc supported the iPhone 4/3GS/3G with planned iPad and iPod touch support. The company later positioned Surc more broadly as a "Mobile Ad Platform + Remote Control" on smartphones, reflecting a pivot toward the ad-tech opportunity around the device.

Beyond Mashed Pixel, there is little public record tying Michail Kalman to a formal fund or a wider disclosed angel portfolio; his documented investing activity centers on his role as the seed backer and board chair of Mashed Pixel.

• Invests as an individual angel at the seed stage, backing early consumer-technology ventures.
• Focus area evidenced by his role: consumer mobile devices, smartphone accessories/hardware, and mobile applications/ad-tech (as embodied by Mashed Pixel's Surc).
• Brings an operator's lens — over 35 years across international banking, healthcare, and manufacturing, spanning start-ups, growth-stage companies, and turnarounds — suggesting he values management execution and a path through difficult operating situations, not just product ideas.
• Comfortable with a cross-border US/Israel model (US commercialization paired with Israeli R&D), which is core to how Mashed Pixel is structured.