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Gold/Mining/Energy : MIRANDOR-MIQ ON MONTREAL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Grant Baker who wrote (2198)	9/25/1998 8:27:00 PM
From: Mike Paulin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2635

Speros,I wonder how much time he as for MIQ????????????? '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 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."