Where Have They Gone?
Companies Founded by SAIC Alumni
Over the years, a number of SAIC’s talented scientists and engineers have decided-for a variety of different reasons-to leave the company, starting their own businesses. In some cases, the companies were virtual clones of the SAIC model — incorporating employee ownership, a scientific culture, and more — while others were completely different. In every case, the entrepreneurs who started their own businesses after leaving SAIC took with them valuable lessons learned from their experience with the company.
As part of the research for the book, we would like to create a compilation of companies created by individuals who left SAIC. The figure below provides an initial listing, along with the name of the former SAIC-founder and year founded. Please help us fill in the blanks with any spin-offs (official and unofficial) that we may have missed, along with their major accomplishments and/or current status (see examples below) if you know it.
Click on the comments link to share your thoughts.
– Bob
1970’s
- Jaycor, San Diego, California (Jim Young: 1975) Acquired by Titan Corporation in 2002
- Photon Research Associates, San Diego, California (Jim Myers: 1975) Acquired by Raytheon in 2004
- Horizons Technology, San Diego, California (Jim Palmer: 1977) Acquired by Titan Corporation in 1998
1980’s
- Science & Engineering Associates, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Jim Cramer: 1980) Acquired by Titan Corporation in 2002
- Titan Corporation, San Diego, California (Gene Ray: 1981) Acquired by L-3 Communications in 2005
- Chipsoft, Mountain View, California (Mike Chipman: 1984) Acquired by Intuit in 1993
1990’s
- Bluebird Systems, Carlsbad, California (Bob Mac: 1992) Acquired by Open Text Corporation in 2000
- Networkcar, Inc., San Diego, California (Chuck Myers: 1999) Acquired by Reynolds & Reynolds in 2002
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Here are comments on some of your recent responses:
Babette Davis (Week 5): It’s becoming clear to me that everyone views the employee ownership element differently in SAIC. Many highly successful individuals felt employee ownership was the most important factor in their success, and the company’s success. Others did not feel that employee ownership particularly motivated them or played much of a role in the success of the company. I for one think the employee ownership we established was the right thing to do. Employees deserved to own the company that only they made possible. I tried very hard to ensure that even the doubting Thomases had a chance to get equity in the company.
Bob Coullahan (Week 6): Good to hear from you. I remember fondly our discussion of the emergency response programs you initiated and ran at SAIC, including the exercises that you supported in Denver and elsewhere. I hope you are continuing to contribute in this area that is so very important to the U.S.