 | |
Voice to the Developer 
Tom Rolander, Benetech VP and CTO, morphs from total code geek to high-tech entrepreneur
Name:
Currently:
Degree:
Geek Jobs:
Entrepreneurial Efforts:
Mentor:
Born to Lutheran Missionaries in Kiomboi, Tanzania (East Africa), Tom Rolander returned stateside and attended grade school in Auburn, Washington and East Orange, New Jersey. He returned to Seattle for high school, then he worked full time while paying his own way through the University of Washington. Ten years later he emerged with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Tom began his career at Intel but moved to Pacific Grove in 1978 to work for Gary Kildall at Digital Research. There he wrote two operating systems, MP/M and CP/NET and went on to become VP of Engineering and later VP of Research and Development. After Digital Research was sold, he started KnowledgeSet (with Gary Kildall) and then PGSoft, Inc., which was acquired by Novell. His two-year contract with Novell completed, he began creating a new venture, pgsc.NET only to abandon it in November 2002 when he began volunteering full-time for Benetech. Having formally joined Benetech as VP and CTO Rolander happily quips that he has now moved "from a 'successful' career to a 'meaningful' career." The Path from "Total Code Geek" to Entrepreneur A 1997 Dr. Dobb's special report described Tom Rolander as "'a total code geek.' Just a kid in a candy store when it came to programming, without a business bone in his body." Rolander admits that description fit when he was working for Intel, Digital Research, Novell, and even at KnowledgeSet, the company he co-founded with Gary Kildall. So how did a "total code geek without a business bone in his body" gain the business acumen to start two consulting companies and two startup companies? "When I was handed a six-figure check for the sale of KnowledgeSet to Banta Corporation... It was then that I began in earnest to learn the language of business," says Rolander. Before that, "I only paid attention to engineering related issues." The Importance of Mentors and Collaborators The process of learning the language of business was gradual and helped along by mentors and collaborators. To create a successful startup business, "it is far more likely and practical that people with business skills collaborate with people that have engineering skills," says Rolander. "In my experience it is extremely rare to find a single individual with both business and engineering skills," "I have long recognized the importance of having a mentor," says Rolander, who credits Gary Kildall as his mentor in engineering. Kildall was his partner at Digital Research and co-founder with Rolander of KnowledgeSet. "He was truly a PC industry pioneer. Gary had the remarkable ability to visualize practical applications of emerging technology." Lee Lorenzen stepped in later as Rolander's business advisor during the start-up phase of PGSoft. Lorenzen provided "angel investment" to start the business and to guide the process of identifying market opportunities for the development of profitable products. Moving from a Successful Career to a Meaningful Career In summer of 2002 Rolander completed his two year employment contract with Novell-a condition of the PGSoft acquisition-to form another startup. "I was free to leave, and largely because of my experience as an entrepreneur, I was unwilling to work for only wages," he says. "Sure I had stock options, but my personal ability to affect the direction and outcome of a 4000+ person $1B company was negligible." Rolander was going through all of the steps of forming his new company, pgsc.NET, when he had lunch with Gerry Davis, a former DRI board member and corporate attorney who had recently joined the board of Benetech. The company's philosophy piqued Rolander's interest and the next week Davis introduced him to Benetech's Jim Fruchterman. It was a meeting that would change the course of his career. "My meeting with Jim awakened me to the possibility of moving from a successful career to a meaningful career," says Rolander. "Jim Fruchterman is a man who embodies the energy and vision of an entrepreneur, yet has a compelling drive to make the world a better place. Soon after that meeting, Rolander made the move to Benetech as VP and CTO, deciding to devote his career to developing technology projects that address human rights, literacy, disabilities, education, and other social problems, measuring the fruits of his labors "in social outcome rather than financial outcome."
Related
Turning Technical Know-How into Entrepreneurial Success
Benetech
Rolander's Kiomboi, Africa Adventure Photo Gallery
A Flash from the Past: Bookshelf on Laser Disk
Gary Kildall Profile | ||||||||
| |
| ||||||||||||
Print-friendly Version
