i work at a company that produces
VPN software. in early
1999, my
boss, a coworker, and i decided to work to integrate the VPN software into an
operating system and make the whole system easier to
configure. this went through several evolutions, and now there are two distinct products based on the same
idea. us three originals are the only ones who put in development time (in addition to our regular duties) into these projects.
we did it. we were very
proud of the accomplishment upon the first release. then my coworker, tim, left. a big loss. since, me and my boss have been working dilligently, along with the help of a
QA guy named grizz (who is marvelously
talented).
our latest
iteration of the original idea is a good solid product.
intel developed
hardware for us (a nice 1u rackmount box). all of our beta testing customers were impressed. resellers wanted it. the product got many mentions on a
stock chat bullitin board for investors in the company. seeing the name of the product in print by people all over the world in terms of how it could change the company's future was very
gratifying.
hee hee. today i found a communications news
magazine (www.communicationsnews.com) aticle summarizing what it considered to be some of the
best products showcased at Networld+Interop in
Las Vegas. At the top of the page, with an editor's choice stamp, is a picture and blurb about the system. i
love it. it's a
huge return on the
investment.