Building The Small Business CRM Solution: CircleDog CEO Charlie Crystle (Part 3)

SM: What was the evolution of ChiliSoft? CC: We started with the store and after a year left that business. The retail level was just too tough at the time. Software was way too hard for most people because it required DOS and Windows 3.1 had a terrible interface.

Building The Small Business CRM Solution: CircleDog CEO Charlie Crystle (Part 2)

SM: You say you see opportunities where others do not, but you also have the guts to pursue them. CC: I suppose that is true. Success or failure, you have to try. I think that entrepreneurs are naturally optimistic. We see a better place and love solving problems.

Building The Small Business CRM Solution: CircleDog CEO Charlie Crystle (Part 1)

Charlie Crystle is passionate about music, nonprofit institutions and entrepreneurism. He has founded several companies including his current effort, CircleDog. His past ventures include ChiliSoft, which was purchased by Sun. He focuses on product usability, economics and policy, all of which are themes which can be found in each of his successful ventures. SM: Let’s

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Deal Radar 2008: Verticals onDemand

Verticals onDemand is a leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Founded in 2007 by software industry veterans, Verticals onDemand is headquartered in Pleasanton, CA with sales offices in New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Rules For Bootstrappers (Part 1)

By Greg Gianforte, Guest Author [SM: On the heels of my Weapon Of Mass Reconstruction column, I’d like to welcome Greg Gianforte, CEO of RightNow, whose interview you have read recently, to share his perspective on bootstrapping.]

The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 7)

SM: In your opinion, what are some of the typical problems entrepreneurs have? GG: I think the biggest problem is they think they have to a perfect product before they can go to market. The reality is that learning does not start until you have some value proposition. When you go through the process of

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The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 6)

SM: Have you taken any venture capital funding with RightNow, or has it been solely bootstrapped? GG: We raised about $27 million in 1999 and 2000. The first key is that our partners were really good. We also were a good size, we had about 160 people on board. We had a $6-million-a-year business and they

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The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 5)

SM: Is there any particular market segment that you have targeted, or do you simply focus on companies by size? GG: We have about 1,800 clients who tend to be larger organizations. Over 60% of our business is with corporations that have over $1 billion in revenue. Some of our larger verticals are telecommunications, which accounts

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