Archive for July, 2003

BC Tech For Sale?

Published by Brendon J. Wilson on July 21, 2003 in entrepreneurship. 2 Comments

In an earlier topic I posed the question “who are the giants in BC”, seeking to prompt whatever readership I might have to help identify the important figures in BC. As I pointed out in that topic, I believe British Columbians don’t celebrate our leaders, don’t take pride in what we are capable of accomplishing. In a similar vein, I want to consider the recent acquisitions of BC corporations.

Last week, Intel decided to acquire the gaggle of PMC Sierra emigrants that formed West Bay Semiconductors in 1999. In a similar move, Business Objects splurged and purchased local reporting software success Crystal Decisions. Great, right? Some home town entrepreneurs strike it big, and somewhere a venture capitalist gets both his wings and an liquidation event. Everybody wins.

But consider a similar story: in mid-2000, Intel acquired local communications software developer Trillium Digital Systems. Trillium, a leader in producing standards-compliant communications protocol software, developed software required to implement the hardware backend driving today’s modern telcos. Trillium was especially popular in its industry, due primarily to its support for a variety of hardware platforms. However, after the acquisition Trillium became an Intel-only shop, shedding bales of valuable intellectual property in the process, to please its new corporate sugar daddy. But when the hard times hit, Intel sold Trillium to Continuous Computing Corporation for a conveniently undisclosed sum.

What’s sad about the Trillium story is that an otherwise healthy company chose to be acquired, and then driven into the ground by a foreign parent company. On the one hand, it was probably a good strategy for Intel - after all, they managed to eliminate support for their competitors’ products. But on the other hand, it really sucked for the large numbers of local engineers and software developers that lost their jobs, and the local companies that benefited indirectly from Trillium’s past level of performance.

The question is this: do British Columbian companies look to sell out too fast, rather than try to become the world leader in their industry? Do we talk a good game about building world-class companies, but lose our nerve when presented with a cheque? Will I be here lamenting the decline of West Bay and Crystal Decisions in a year or two?

Phresh Phish

Published by Brendon J. Wilson on July 16, 2003 in Personal and Uncategorized. 1 Comment

What are the ingredients to an excellent weekend? Take one road trip, a couple of friends, several thousand nomadic strangers, a cult band, and a break-taking venue in the desert, and bingo! You’ve got what Ashley, Angie I did for the last three days: a road trip to the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington to see Phish on their first tour since returning from hiatus.

Located in George, Washington (yes, you read that right), the Gorge Amphitheatre is positioned on cliffs above the Columbia River, presenting a spectacular view to concert attendees. When we arrived on Friday afternoon, it was beastly hot, a condition that continued through Saturday, which demanded the majority of our time was spent seeking shade and hydrating ourselves. But it was well worth it for two reasons: the northern lights, and Phish!

As the sun set on Friday night, the majority of people around us had their attention focused on the John Mayer/Counting Crows concert in the Gorge. We, however, noticed a slight greenish haze forming in the opposite direction that grew stronger until streaks of vertical curtains of light became visible once the sun has set completely. Given that Phish would be playing by itself the following evening, I suppose this experience counted as the opening act.

At the Phish concert the next evening, spirits were high and the weary Gorge campers were ready to have some fun. In a “Dead Poets Society” moment, someone in the audience discovered that the flour tortillas being sold by the concession were amazingly aerodynamic, Overlooking the Gorge as Phish jam onespecially in the presence of the wind blasting the amphitheatre from the ravine. Before the concert even began, tortilla UFOs streaked across the concert audience, sometimes making it almost the entire way across the amphitheatre in brave defiance of the laws of baking and gravity.

The concert itself was usual Phish fare, with numerous jams on songs old and new. It appeared that the band was a little out of practice at some points during the concert - though the cruised through some songs in perfect form, they seemed lost in others, wandering to a finish without really coming together. In particular, we noticed that Trey and Page seemed to stepping on each other’s toes a little when it came to solos. Weird.

The final song in the encore, the reprise of “Tweezer”, was really neat. All through the concert, people had been tossing around glow sticks and glow stick bracelets, having previously exhausted their stockpile of tortillas. As the song approached the finish, glow sticks were being thrown forward towards the stage, bouncing over the crowd with a life of their own. By the end, the mosh pit right in front of the stage looked like it was bubbling with glow sticks, as the song came to a close. A perfectly surreal finish to the concert.