In 1993, while working as a
computer consultant, I wanted to produce a diskette distributable, desktop presentation of
my consulting services. A brochure on a disk. In the past, I had used an application
called "Show Partner F/X". Limitations in the version I had caused me to seek an
upgrade. After much difficulty I located the publisher, Brightbill-Roberts & Company,
in Syracuse, N.Y. My whole experience purchasing this upgrade indicated that the company
was in decline. I wrote and expressed my disappointment with the thought of this marvelous
desktop presentation platform disappearing from the marketplace, and, asked if they would
be interested in selling me the rights.
They responded immediately with
an offer. I contacted an old friend of mine, Earl "Ace" Starry, who had recently
received his masters degree in business and marketing. We negotiated for a few months then
flew to Syracuse in January of 1994 and bought all of the company's assets. In addition to
Show Partner, we purchased an object oriented desktop development platform called
"HyperPAD".
Soon after we knew we were going
into the software publishing business, I contacted another old friend, Mark Kroenecke, who
has a degree in electronics, to fill the role of Chief Technical Officer. A friend of
Ace's, Scott Hamilton, an M.B.A. in finance, signed-on as our Chief Financial Officer.
Finally, we were referred to Tim Hagan, an attorney with a strong background in finance
who came on board as Chief Legal Council. With this core group, IQ Technologies, Inc. was
born.
Show Partner, a desktop
presentation development platform, in it's various releases, sold over 1 million copies
worldwide. The underlying "engine", was incorporated in Borland's
"Applause" and Lotus' "Freelance" products. The cost of
upgrading this to a Windows product was prohibitive.
It is still available as a free download. |
HyperPAD was a platform
designed to enable anyone to write a computer application by simply cutting and pasting
objects. This product was amoung the assets acquired in our purchase of
Brightbill-Roberts. IQ Technologies did not make any significant effort to market
this product.
It is also available as a free download. |
Left to Right: Mark Kroenecke, Fred Jackson,
Scott Hamilton, Tim Hagan, Sam Martin,
Terrill Caplan, Earl Starry, Bill Planter, Kelly Planter & Gene Cook.
|
