When Wade Brooks joined FI Solutions last summer, the Portland company was a systems integrator, putting together computer systems for corporate customers. The next step, he said, is to prove that the firm can operate effectively in another state. One of the planned products, he said, automatically helps clients' Web pages rank near the top of a search-engine search. Everybody has another idea the next day.
People are already wary of investing in flaky people.
Brooks assembled management primarily from people he knew and trusted. Chief Technical Officer Michael McGowan worked in Qwest Communications' Empire Communications Group when Brooks was an account executive there. Brooks' newest recruit came from a vendor, he said. Ron Feightner, vice president of sales and marketing, was vice president of sales at Web integrator Firstworld. It's a young industry, and a lot of people are very good at talking the talk, but ultimately in a few years' time it's going to be interesting to see who's left standing.