Leave word, it's delivered by e-mail

What: Jott Networks

Where: Seattle, in Fremont

Employees: 5

Who: John Pollard and Shreedhar Madhavapeddi, founders

Goodbye Post-it notes: Jott is a way to, literally, leave word. It transcribes your voice into text, then sends it off as e-mail, SMS message or reminder, eliminating scraps of paper or messing with voice mail.

The nuts and bolts: Using a mobile phone, registered users call a toll-free number to reach the free Web service at Jott.com. They then rattle off to-dos or thoughts, which are delivered in written form to the right spot in about three minutes.

From couch to company: Last March, the former Microsoft executives turned time on their hands into a brainstorming session. It took about a month to turn their concept into a startup, and nine months to turn Jott into an available.

Lost in translation? The transcription is not perfect, with loud music, background noise and varied pronunciation factoring in; but for the most part, Jotts gets it right.

Early results: After a trial run of about 100 friends, associates and investors, Jott.com now is open to anyone. Pollard maintains users are now "in the thousands."

Funding: Jott secured less than $1 million in launch funds from Ackerley Partners, Draper Richards and Atomico Investments. Pollard says revenue should start coming in by the second quarter.

Business model: Jott intends to continue being offered free or at a low cost. It may opt for a basic ad-based service and a more deluxe option available for a monthly fee.

Jott limitations: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. "You might consider spelling that one out," Pollard said.

— Christina Siderius