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updated September 18, 2009
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Alumni-Led Companies Named Among America’s Most Promising
by Forbes Magazine
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Two entrepreneurial success stories led by Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology alumni have been named by Forbes magazine among America’s most
promising companies, featured in next week’s issue of the magazine and
currently highlighted in Forbes.com.
Forbes joined with The Venture Alliance to seek small, dynamic companies
with the kind of growth potential that are attractive by venture capitalist.
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Successful Entrepreneurs: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
alumni Robert Tryon (left) and Loren Nasser helped found Vextec in
2000. |
Vextec was the No. 1 company on the Top 20 Most Promising Company list. The
Brentwood, Tenn., company was founded by Rose-Hulman mechanical engineering
graduates Loren Nasser (’82) and Robert Tryon (’81).
Meanwhile, at No. 16 was Scale Computing of Indianapolis, founded by 1996
computer science graduates Jeff Ready and Scott Loughmiller, and featuring
former student Ehren Maedge as director of operations.
Vextec (www.vextec.com) is the only company in the world that can accurately
and efficiently predict the performance, durability and true lifetime cost
of a single component or an entire fleet -- before they’re ever built.
Founded in 2000, Vextec has pioneered and patented innovations in material
science and probability theory to form the foundation of its Virtual Life
Management (VLM) technology. Manufacturing companies from such diverse
industries as aerospace, heavy equipment, automotive, electronics and
medical implants are benefitting from Vextec’s unique ability to predict
product life cycles and failure, and most importantly, their financial
consequences.
"Vextec's technology promises to hasten the pace of innovation," stated
Brett Nelson, Forbes Entrepreneurs Editor, in a company news release. "This
young company represents the very spirit of entrepreneurship in America."
Elliott Reiff, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of The Venture
Alliance, stated in the same news release: “During the survey, thousands of
companies started the process and VEXTEC clearly stood out because of its
technology, overall quality of the management team, and the huge market
opportunity that exists for them.”
Nasser, Vextec CEO, insisted it was just a matter of time before people
started to take notice of the company.
“We always knew we had a jewel here and now the planned acceleration of our
growth acceleration has been validated by this selection,” stated Nasser in
the company news release. “We’re honored we’ve been chosen from so many fine
companies, and particularly that Forbes and TVA have selected us to head
this prestigious list.”
Rose-Hulman’s relationship with Nasser and Tryon continue as VEXTEC has a
testing laboratory in Terre Haute, established in 2008 adjacent to Terre
Haute International Airport, and is a client business of the Terre Haute
Innovation Alliance, an economic development and educational initiative
based at Indiana State University that includes Rose-Hulman, the city of
Terre Haute and Terre Haute Economic Development Corp. Two other
alumni working for the company are Rich Holmes, senior lifing specialist,
and Matt King, staff engineer.
Based in the Nashville suburb of Brentwood, Tenn., Vextec’s Terre Haute lab
was established in 2008 adjacent to Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman
Field.
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Thinking Big: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology computer
science alumni Scott Loughmiller (left) and Jeff Ready started Scale
Computing in 2008. |
Scale Computing (www.scalecomputing.com) was founded in 2008 to create data
storage systems for corporations, hospitals, schools and government
entities. Unlike other hardware, Scale's is expandable in increments of
one-, two- and four-terabyte storage nodes (think Lego blocks), eliminating
the need to overinvest in rapidly depreciating equipment. The company sells
through distributors, including CDW and MicroAge.
Ready has a proven track record of success in entrepreneurial enterprises.
He has launched and sold two venture capital-backed technology firms in the
last decade: Radiate, which made Internet advertising software, funded by
CMGI, and spam-blocker Corvigo, backed by Sequoia. He sits on the boards of
several early-stage technology companies.
“We see that the computer world is at the beginning of a radical change in
architecture, not unlike what took place with the invention of the mainframe
or the change from mainframes to personal computers. When these changes take
place, massive opportunity exists,” stated Ready in the Forbes and The
Ventures Alliance survey. “IBM, Digital, Wang, and others come from the
first computer revolution in the '50s and '60s. Dell, Microsoft, and Apple
are a result of the PC revolution. We want to be the leader of this
revolution. Creating a company of that magnitude -- one that makes
fundamental changes in the computing landscape -- is the kind of company we
are trying to create. Yes, these are lofty goals, but that's what we're
aiming to achieve, and it's a lot more fun to think big.”
Learn more about Forbes’ Top 20 Most Promising Company list at
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/promising-companies.
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