SM: So let’s go back to the point where you were seeing this in the Middle East. How long did it take you to jump ship and start your own thing? WK: I also read a book, Atlas Shrugged, at the same time I was making those trips.
SM: What was unique about what you were doing? How did it change the environment you were operating in? WK: This particular product was different because we put it in the inlet of an ethylene furnace which can be 1,800–2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That is a very tough environment to work in from a chemical standpoint.
Wayne F. Krouse is the chairman, chief executive officer, and founder of Hydro Green Energy. He founded the company in 2002 after a short but distinguished career with Nalco/Exxon Energy Chemicals. He was the Research & Development chairperson of the National Hydropower Association in 2007. SM: Wayne, where do you come from? WK: I am
SM: What have you learned through your two ventures, especially DimDim, which is an especially ambitious project? DD: Learning throughout AIM was very steep. I realized on my second or third day that I did not know anything about business at all.
SM: What is your strategy going forward? I understand your open source go-to-market strategy, which is a viral spread. What is your hypothesis on where DimDim Pro and Enterprise are going to gain traction? DD: All sales that have happened to date have been inbound inside sales.
SM: Because your are so open, all of your customers and potential customers can know about not only the benefits but also potential drawbacks to your software. What has been the impact of your open policies? DD: If you look at a traditional software company, the customers are at the top of the funnel and
SM: Your major competitive advantage is being a free platform as well as an open source platform? DD: Yes. As you can imagine, Microsoft or WebEx Cisco are not going to become open source or free hosted solution companies anytime soon.
SM: What did you do when the company was sold? Did you stay with it and work for CA? DD: Yes, I stayed on and did some strategy stuff for CA. I then moved to India to start the India Technology Center.