|
|
June 25, 2006
 John
Ketzenberger
Startup-crazy birds of feather are Indiana's golden
geese
June 25, 2006
Jeff Walters and Jim McMillion met each other years
ago at Bell Laboratories, the
company-within-a-company at the old AT&T.
Three companies later, the 52-year-old men are still
knocking out new products with an ever-increasing
band of local entrepreneurs. Their current venture,
Exacq Technologies, grew out of Integral
Technologies, which grew out of Truevision, which
had its start in Bell Labs.
They've owned a piece of each of the companies, each
of which uses computer technology to solve a
problem. Exacq's new product advances digital
recording of security cameras.
"That's serial entrepreneurism," said Steve Beck,
head of the Indiana Venture Center.
We don't see a lot of successful serial
entrepreneurs in these parts, though it's pretty
common on the coasts. But it's an important part of
a healthy economy.
Too often, when a company is sold, we lament the
fact that a headquarters will be lost. That's
natural, but in the case of serial entrepreneurs,
selling the company usually means it won't be long
before a new one is born. That means more jobs for
the economy.
Serial entrepreneurs tend to travel in packs, the
better to analyze the market and process the
information effectively.
"It's more common with a core group of people
because they know each other, they trust each other
and they can delegate tasks so they can divide and
conquer," Beck said.
That's true of the Exacq execs. "We know what each
other is capable of," said Dan Rittman, the
39-year-old director of engineering. "We stay out of
each other's business for the most part."
Oh, they talk over beers on Friday, but Sales and
Marketing Director Tom Buckley "doesn't tell me how
to design a computer board, and I don't tell him how
to close a sale."
What they do have is respect for one another and a
desire to work together. "I was willing to join this
group in whatever it did," said Buckley, 45.
Rittman was hired into Integral and quickly caught
the founders' attention. When the founders sold the
company in 2000 for $50 million, it was Rittman who
had the idea that brought them back together a
couple of years later. And this time he's a
part-owner.
That's how this merry band of entrepreneurs grows.
Three of them helped start Truevision, which
developed computer "screen-grabbing" technology
that's now a staple of video editing. Those three
and two more helped start Integral, which still is a
local competitor with Exacq.
Those five and three more started Exacq, which
employs 14 people near Castleton. The company's
doing well and, at some point, likely will be sold.
The founders will cash out, maybe run the company
awhile for the new owners, then drift off to ponder
their next venture.
Will they start a new company? "Yes," was
McMillion's immediate answer.
You can bet the core of founders will grow to
include some of those hired into Exacq.
"There is a higher chance of success because you
have more brainpower looking for solutions," Beck
said.
That's a good corollary for the region's economy.
|
