Amos Winbush III

CEO
CyberSynchs L.L.C.
New York City
Age: 27

When his iPhone crashed in June 2008 and obliterated his 150 contacts, singer-song-writer Amos Winbush III went to bed frustrated and awoke with the idea that spawned CyberSynchs L.L.C., a developer of patented “universal wireless synchronization” technologies that provide seamless data backup, data transmission and video streaming over the Internet for independent devices and operating systems. “I fell asleep that night and had a dream about the company and decided I had to do this,” says Winbush.

At the time, Winbush was making waves as a recording artist. Heavily influenced by his parents, musician Amos Winbush II and Irene Duncan-Winbush, he knew what it meant to combine business savvy and creativity. He consulted his manager and other advisers and followed their advice to conduct research, recruit a software engineer and hire a developer to get the company started. By August 2008, work was under way on the technology that would place CyberSynchs on the technology map. “There were three people: the chief technology officer, one developer and me. They focused on building the technology and I ran the business side,” says Winbush. At a presentation in November 2008, they caught the attention of Sun Microsystems executives, which resulted in the partnership that propelled CyberSynchs to become the multimillion-dollar company it is today, with 15 employees.

Overcoming rejection was one of Winbush’s biggest obstacles. “I wasn’t the cookie-cutter technology CEO. I had to fight for the company to show that I could manage a tech company and do it well,” says Winbush, who studied business management and administration at Louisiana State University Shreveport. With all that, he says he’s most proud of his roles as a husband and a son. Hoping to impact the learning environment for generations, he’s working with his former middle school to provide up to 1,000 students with computers.  

Fun Facts

Favorite sport: Tennis
Favorite book: “I Can Do It” by Louise Hay
Favorite charity: Save the Music