In 2007, my good friend Kyle Nelson and I co-founded OpenACircle.com to leverage video technology from ESPRE Solutions and create a unique collaborative business environment. Incubated by ESPRE, we quickly formed a team with COO Greg Spindler, CIO Rick Bansal, and CTO Jack Lee.

We managed to design and build OpenACircle in less than a year, launching at DEMO 2008, where we won "Best of Show" for our unique approach that mashed up document sharing, live video conferencing, instant messaging and social networking tools.

We merged video conferencing with screen-sharing and private chat to support dynamic collaboration. We did a lot of market testing as the awesome Eric Dettmers patiently refined the interface to provide robust features with ease of use.   

The activity wall kept members connected to all their different projects and circles. And we made it easy to get started with an enormous library of icons and avatars to brand each project and team circle if users didn't have their own. The goal at every stage of design was power and simplicity. I think we nailed it.

ESPRE Solutions, Inc. launched in 2003, after acquiring the Lightening Strike video codec and other patented technology from Vianet, Inc. As V.P. Product Management, I built ESPRE's websites and managed an extensive portfolio of products ranging from video-email marketing tools to video conferencing to a two-way interactive system that provided remote diagnostic support for highly complex mechanical systems.

The ESPRE technology won a series of awards from SuperQuest, the Communications Technology Association and others.

We modularized the ESPRE technology into a series of building blocks that could be used to create a wide variety of solutions. I was given charge of the ESPRE Media Group, which functioned as an internal and external service bureau. We created unique applications for customers including Belo, Sprint, Verizon, COX, Trader Online and others.

In 2004, ESPRE's patented Wavelet codec was the only viable video solution for broadcast over extremely narrow bandwidths. We were among the first companies to prove the feasibility of streaming video over cell phone data networks.

ESPRE Solutions is now VueLive.com.

8Point.com was launched to bring a unique web-based video technology to market. We licensed a proprietary wavelet-based video codec and a suite of enterprise-class PC-based applications from ViaNet, Inc. then repackaged them for consumers. Serving as CTO of the company, I was tasked with building an e-commerce site and sales support and a commission management system. We used .NET, Flash and javascript to create a complete solution that managed product sales, shipment, and support for end-user and sales agents.

One key challenge with PC-based video conferencing at the time was the requirement that users know the IP address of the PC they wanted to call. We resolved this by creating a unique Flash based executable that used the Jabber instant messaging platform to create a directory of friends and automatically exchange the current IP address of each user. Since there was no Flash/Jabber integration tool, I wrote a custom class to manage all the XML communications.

The 8Point Launchpad app abstracted the IP address so that the user could launch the video conferencing application and place the call with a single click. The 8Point technology worked well. But in 2002, we were a bit ahead of consumer acceptance curve for video conferencing.

I launched eMercatus in 1999 with my great friend Bob Killough, one of the finest geek-herders and project managers I've ever met.  Together with a few smart employees and an army of freelancers we built a lot of websites and provided other technology and management services for established companies and start-ups.  We helped young companies form their technology strategies, get funded, and deploy products. Here are a few of the projects in which we were involved:

HorseComUnity.com

The visual design for this site was laid out by our friends Lewis and Clare at Studio Gallo, one of the great design houses in San Antonio during the Web 1.0 boom. The founders of the company were heavily involved in the equestrian event world, and wanted to help event organizers transform the industry from paper to digital. We developed a unique database structure that allowed us to store all sorts of different kinds of event information in a single store. In other words, a single table structure could store the very different kinds of data tracked in events from cross country to show jumping to dressage to rodeo. Our goal was to build a sports event management platform that could track statistics for any kind of sporting event without additional customization. This project was built with ColdFusion.

BioLynx.com

BioLynx.com was on a mission to transform time and attendance using emerging biometrics technology. Their system provided entry access and employee tracking using a unique hand-scanner technology. With tie-ins to many popular time and attendance systems, they helped automate payroll and accountability systems. Because they sold complex technology, they had an ongoing challenge in training their sales force.  We created a secure web-based training system that improved technical knowledge and taught proven sales techniques. The system included animations, streaming video, and audio and a robust measurement system that allowed sales managers to track employee learning outcomes. The site was built with Flash and ASP.

eOrbis.com

eOrbis.com launched the first multi-lingual auction site on the web. We served as their technology department and built the auction platform from scratch, then helped secure their initial funding from Bear Stearns. The real challenge in this project was integrating accurate real-time translation and search across hundreds of disparate product categories. The system allowed sellers to write product descriptions in their native language and buyers to search and browse in a different language. The site was built with Coldfusion. Orbis still exists as OrbisOnline.com, a provider of reverse auction services for business and government.

Japhet Homes

Japhet Homes (now Japhet Builders) is an established San Antonio home builder. We spiced up their online presence. The site we produced (with visual design by the inimitable Dan Dana) included virtual tours of their model homes and interactive floor plans that helped buyers understand the quality of construction core to Japhet's philosophy of residential architecture. The site included a content management system that let them maintain live listings of available properties. The site was built with Flash and ASP.

WalterStorey.com

Walter Storey Incorporated provided one of the premiere interpersonal communications workshops in the country for senior executives at Fortune 1000 companies. The core of the curriculum was an intensive residential program that helped participants learn how to break down barriers and communicate effectively with superiors and subordinates. Todd Miller and Brooke Waller of the eMercatus team designed the WalterStorey.com site to provide interactive tools to support real-time coaching and principal reinforcement for workshop participants. The site was built with Flash, ASP, and Javascript.

CyberLog

Cyberlog, Ltd was a division of Legacy Telecommunications, Inc. in San Antonio, TX. The Cyberlog group provided robust call center management solutions. We created this interactive multimedia sales presentation to help the sales force clearly explain the features and benefits of the solutions. The project made extensive use of Flash animations and streaming audio. It was distributed online and on CD-ROM. The site was built with Flash, ASP and Javascript.