Longtime IBM'ers in Rochester strike out on their own
Sherri Cruz
Star Tribune
Monday, June 18, 2001
At a time when the technology industry is quaking, a few longtime "Beemers" have left the shelter of IBM to start LogicLibrary, a technology company.
Sounds nutty? It gets nuttier.
Not only are they starting a technology company, they are entering an emerging market: component-based software development.
"It certainly is a bit of a risk," said Greg Sherman, vice president of business strategy.
But the backer of LogicLibrary, which launches today, is confident.
"If there ever was a company coming to the market right when the planets are aligned, this is it," said Erich Jacobs, president of Rebar Foundry, the incubator arm of
Rebar, a $1 billion technology venture-capital and holding company based in Norwood, Mass.
Here's a quick primer on component-based technology: Software components are chunks of code designed to interact with other chunks, which then are assembled into
an application. The advantage of component development is that when a company needs to write an application, it reuses units already written so it doesn't have to
start from scratch.
Many companies just reinvent the wheel every time they write a new application, Jacobs said. And typically, there isn't any filing system, either.
"You're just wasting money left and right," Jacobs said.
To get an idea of how large the market is, GartnerGroup predicts 70 percent of all new applications will be built from components by 2003.
When the LogicLibrary team looked at the market, they saw a significant shortage of components, Sherman said.
Rebar wouldn't specify the exact amount it put into LogicLibrary, but Jacobs said it was a "substantial" investment, more than seed or angel funding.
In addition to a promising market, LogicLibrary boasts a seasoned management.
Brent Carlson, Logic Library's co-founder and vice president of technology, is considered a guru in his field, Jacobs said. When geek magazines such as Object hear that
he is on staff, their interest in the company is piqued, he said.
Carlson is a 17-year IBM exec who was a senior architect for the WebSphere proj ect, IBM's cornerstone e-business initiative.
Sherman spent 16 years at IBM in Rochester, Minn., most recently leading the strategy for IBM's WebSphere initiative.
LogicLibrary said its patent-pending technology is being tested with customers and is scheduled for release in July.
Although the company is based in Pennsylvania, its development team, operations and marketing functions are based in Rochester.
LogicLibrary has 21 employees, 14 in the Twin Cities area. That's mainly because Sherman and Carlson like it here, and CEO Ellen Milantoni, a University of
Minnesota graduate, agreed to let them to stay here.
Besides, Sherman said, there's a new attitude about building a company: Do it where the skills are.
"I'm a big proponent of distributed companies," Jacobs said. By not limiting a company by geography, you can pick the best team.
"The team in Rochester is the best team in this space in the country," he said. "We wouldn't ask them to move." And it makes perfect sense to have headquarters in the
Pittsburgh area because Carnegie Mellon University, a pioneer in component-based development technology, is based in Pittsburgh.
LogicLibrary was conceived at a conference, where Carlson met Milantoni, who devised the company's initial business plan. She shared her ideas on component-based
development, which were in line with his thoughts, he said. At that time she was seeking funding.
"I sort of tucked it in the back of my mind," Carlson said.
Meanwhile, Milantoni became acquainted with Rebar when the company considered hiring her. But she declined, telling the company she had her own business plan.
As it happened, Rebar turned out to be interested in the LogicLibrary concept.
"We decided to take the plunge," Jacobs said.
Then Carlson and Milantoni talked again in November, and he signed on in December.
LogicLibrary is targeting large financial services and insurance companies. Finance and insurance industries are early adopters and are much farther along in using
software technology, Jacobs said.
Targeting specific industries is a good approach, Jacobs said, because in software design you have to incorporate business practices specific to an industry.
-- Sherri Cruz is at scruz@startribune.com .
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