SOFTWARE PRODUCTS INNOVATORS
On behalf of a private sector software innovator:
Third Coast Managing Partner Russell Smith was retained by a software innovator whose software helped operate innovative marketing solutions for banks and credit card companies across their electronic banking environments. As a result of privacy language inserted into the original Mark of H.R.10 (Otherwise known publicly as the Gramm, Leach, Bliley Banking Bill) the client’s software potentially could be defined by regulators as being a physical person and thus violating the privacy provisions within the Bill.
Smith worked closely with the House and Senate Banking Committees to draft and insert language into the final committee Marks that held software harmless from viewing personally identifiable information. The result was a multi-million dollar stream of business that the client retains to this day with customers worldwide in the banking and credit card industries. Ironically all ISPs and online vendors would have been harmed by the original language and none of them were ever active on the issue. So another, unpublished result of the language change to Gramm Leach Bliley was that no ISPs or online environments were ever impacted by this legislation that could have potentially shut them down as a result of the passage of H.R.10. Thus the actions of one small, alert software innovator saved the industry billions.
On behalf of a private sector software innovator who is active in the CAD / CAM market:
The client provides key algorithmic software that drives computer aided design and manufacturing applications. The client, Sandia National Laboratories and the Gulf Coast Regional Maritime Technology Center had developed, in conjunction with major U.S. shipyards a project concept for the innovation of a new robotic solution for the welding of hulls in the shipbuilding process. While the idea was supported by the industry and the process had been laid out at the laboratory, there were no federal funds available to fund the project.
The client approached Third Coast Managing Partner Russell Smith who created a strategy to leverage stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to create a previously non-existent funding stream within the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense to fully fund the multi-year, $10 million effort. The result was an Appropriation of $3 million in FY’04, $3.5 million in FY’05 and a pending stream of DARPA funding at $3.5 million to complete the project, delivering several million dollars of incremental revenue to the client while creating a downstream license revenue stream to the client estimated to be in the tens of millions. An additional benefit lies in the significant cost reductions that will accrue to the taxpayer as a result of the shipyard efficiencies gained through this technology.