Just over eight years ago, I left my job as a mechanical systems engineer at Hamilton Sundstrand on the hunch that I could build a successful software company. I learned a lot working in a large aerospace company, and was proud of my work. My last job was a systems engineer on the Convergent Nozzle Actuation System (CNAS) for the Joint Strike ...

Wow, has life changed since Atalasoft, Inc. was incorporated in August 2002, just over 5 years ago.  The turning point for me in founding Atalasoft was the aftermath of 9/11.  I did not want to be at the mercy of a large corporation in aerospace facing a downturn.  I would seek a new challenge with a simple vision.  I realized ...

This past week the high tech firm GetConnected of Boston suddenly closed their doors after eight years and $20 million in funding.  This left over 100 employees unemployed.  I'm sure these former employees wont have too much of a problem finding a job in today's economy, but how could this happen in the first place?  Atalasoft ...

The interview had happened, the photographer had come and gone a couple weeks ago but we didn't really know what was going to happen with the story that Atalasoft's founder and president, Bill Bither, had contributed to. What a pleasant surprise to pick up Sunday edition of Springfield's Republican and see Bill's head above the fold on the front ...

There are many software engineers who are unhappy with their current jobs or seeking a greater challenge.  Many dream of starting their own company and are at a loss for that revolutionary idea. If you have an idea and it's truly unique, patentable, and has a viable and proven market, congratulations, you've achieved the first ...

According to Paul Graham's article The 18 Mistakes That Kill Startups, startups prosper in some places and not others.  The startup ''hubs'' are in order: Silicon Valley, Boston, Seattle, Austin, Denver, and New York.  There are most certainly advantages to starting a company in one of these areas, in particular Silicon Valley ...

I was reading Paul Graham's blog today and was pointed to a fellow entrepreneur and bootstrapper, Mike Taber with his article Startups for the Rest of us.  Mike outlines a few problems with looking to Y Combinator to fund a software startup.  The main problems are competition, relocation requirement, and giving up 6% of your company ...

There is a bit of a debate going on about the importance of Venture Capitalists in today's economy versus bootstrapping a company yourself over at Venture Voice.  I strongly feel that it totally depends on the expectations and market of the company.  More on that in a bit. Yesterday's interview was with Bo Peabody, founder of tripod ...

Do you have what it takes to start a business?  If you do a web search on ''Type A Personality'' I think you'll find that most definitions include the word ''entrepreneur'' in them.  There are a number of different personality tests.  The Meyer's Briggs test is popular, but it seems to be a little more abstract then the ''type'' ...

When I was a kid, growing up in rural upstate New York, I had this fond interest in butterflies. It seems to be an incredible geeky thing to do, even then. But I would spend my summer's chasing, collecting, and identifying these insects even participating in a scientific study documenting location and identifying species of all butterflies I came ...