Problem:
Philippe Kahn, founder of Borland Software, created Starfish Software with two legacy Borland Products, twenty engineers and an old office building. The goal was to re-create the energy and spirit of the original Borland and to build a business with limited cash.

Solution:
While the team of engineers began work on a new generation of middle-ware and internet tools, Charlie Wallace, now Core Vice President and Senior Partner, was brought on board to create a distribution and retail channel from scratch. Charlie began by creating partnerships with the two largest distributors in North America and a four retail chains: CompUSA, Computer City, MicroWarehouse and Fry’s Electronics. Leveraging his relationships with the channel press, he had editorials in all the channel and computer publications - all within a very limited budget.

Next, Charlie convinced InfoWorld Magazine that Starfish Software deserved a place in their yearly “Demo World” presentation. At Demo 96, Charlie wrote, produced and presented what was hailed as the most powerful presentation of the year. Over 2000 members of the press and venture capitol community rewarded Starfish with a standing ovation and several offers of venture capitol – all of which were refused by Mr. Kahn.

The event yielded more than 50 very favorable editorials in the channel and business press and, by the end of 1996; sales of the two updated products had gone from less than one million dollars to nearly eighty million dollars in the first year.

Result:
This flow of revenue allowed Starfish to continue development of their “TrueSync” line of middleware products which were adopted by Palm, Microsoft and Motorola. Finally, in 1998, the team led the sale of Starfish Software to Motorola Inc for over $450 Million dollars. Motorola continues to operate Starfish as a wholly owned subsidiary and their products are used across hundreds of products and platforms.