Speros,I wonder how much time he as for MIQ?????????????
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From football to software
Speros leads e-commerce firm to N. Va.
James L. Speros, former owner of the Canadian
Football League's Baltimore Stallions, is bringing
another kind of team to Northern Virginia: a
software team.
Speros became president and chief operating
officer last month of Vancouver, Canada-based
Sideware Systems Inc., which designs software
that lets companies buy products over the Internet.
Speros said Sideware, which is traded on the
Vancouver Stock Exchange under the symbol
SYD, will open an office in Reston by Nov. 1 and
hire 40 employees by the end of the year.
"Within three years, we'll generate revenue of $50
million" Speros said.
A native of Potomac, the 39-year-old Speros has
always been an entrepreneur--a trait he attributes
to the competitive spirit and teamwork he learned
playing football.
Speros played for St. John's College High School
in D.C. and won a football scholarship from
Clemson University. After graduating with a degree
in business administration, he joined the
Washington Redskins under coach Joe Gibbs as
the NFL's youngest full-time assistant coach.
Speros resigned in 1986 to become a commercial
real estate broker and investor in a chain of 37
Champions sports bars.
In 1993, when the NFL passed over Baltimore for a
football franchise, Speros saw an opportunity to
bring a CFL team to Baltimore.
But even thought the Baltimore Stallions attracted
40,000 fans to their games and became CFL
champions, they lost their luster to local politicians
when Art Modell expressed an interest in moving
the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.
Speros moved the team to Montreal in February
1996. They became the Montreal Alouettes.
While trying to find innovative ways to boost ticket
sales through the Internet, Speros encountered the
founders of Sideware. He was impressed with their
products and invested in the company.
"I won't tell you the exact amount I invested--but it
was in the high six figures," he said.
He sold the Alouettes in 1997 and returned to the
Washington area. Meanwhile, Sideware had struck
a partnership with IBM to help finance the
production and promotion of its electronic
commerce software, Dr. Bean.
He moved to Reston in April and began searching
for customers. He asked officials at the Reston
office of San Diego-based Science Applications
International Corp. to show Sideware's software to
its government clients. SAIC suggested becoming
partners and rented space to Sideware.
It fits perfectly with the government scenario," said
Anthony Fleury, program manager for SAIC.
Government clients such as the Department of
Defense are trying to make procurement less
expensive and more efficient.
"First agencies used the mail, then fax--now they
all want to order online," Fleury said.
While the company is moving the ball, getting in
the end zone could be difficult considering the
competition in the e-commerce field.
"IBM has made similar partnerships with 15 or so
companies," said Scott Smith, an analyst who
follows e-commerce for Sterling-based Current
Analyst.
But Smith said the industry has plenty of room for
different applications.
The best-case scenario for a company like
Sideware, which lost $2.3 million on revenue of
$36,500 in its fiscal year ended April 30, would be
to sell to another company if its product takes off,
he said.
But Speros said he is too busy fielding his team to
worry about hypothetical situations.
"I've got a winning spirit," he said. "And I'm back
home to stay."
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