Resume and Introduction of Steve S. Saroff, Missoula, Montana.

Click here for my portfolio

 


PLAIN-SPEAK: I enjoy what I do, and can I help other people understand what may, or what may not, succeed. This can make or save large amounts of money. Technology is the easy part, what takes work is communication. The companies I have helped start have made fortunes. If you have an idea that needs help launching or fixing, I may be able to help you.

I am the author of several well-known commercial software systems and a founder of several companies. I am a cofounder of RemoteScan Corporation and iCloseBy Corporations. I am not looking for any kind of employment, however I could be persuaded to take on additional work for equity stakes or board positions. I like being part of fantastic ideas.

  • RemoteScan now (2008) has over 40,000 enterprise corporate customers located in over 120 countries. These customers use our software with hundreds of thousands of end users to solve their problems with connecting document scanners in their Terminal Server or Citrix environments.
  • iCloseBy, which develops and markets applications for Apple's iPhone and touch products, currently has over ten thousand downloads daily from the Apple iTune store; iCloseBy apps are among the most popular Apple iPhone apps in the world.
  
  Saying "Hello," and trying to let you know who I am: I am obsessed with studying, reading, and mountain tops. At 14, I walked alone 500 miles in the Appalachians, then another 500 miles alone when I was 15, and still another 1000 miles alone when I was 16. I Left home and school and hitchhiked West when I was 17. When I was 19 years old I spent 45 days alone in the Bob Marshall. That set the pace for everything that followed: I've never been intimidated by wilderness, solitude or ambitious plans. I also appreciate the rewards that come from listening and shared stories; I appreciate people in ways that only someone who has been long alone can.

I started programming as a kid when it was about as financially rewarding as knowing how to fix lawnmowers; I started coding because I loved it. I started building companies for the same reason.

Before the Internet (back when programmers could only make a living if they agreed to wear ties and work in cubes), I was a dishwasher, cook, waiter, truck-driver, general laborer, farm hand, nail-pounding carpenter, writer, cattle ranch-hand, musician, carpet installer (the second worst job I ever had), oil-field worker in Sydney, Montana, copy writer for ad agency (the worst), hay bucker, technician in a computer store (also very bad), and a firewood cutter (the best)-- and all the time dreaming of where to go next.... experience interconnects...

 

RESUME-SPEAK: I have a broad and diverse background as an entrepreneur, marketing consultant, software developer, and writer. I have created innovative businesses, marketing approaches, software solutions and patented technology for my own businesses as well as for companies in the medical, media and graphic arts industries. Some of the businesses, which have benefited from my work include, Kinkos, Alphagraphics, Wyse Technologies, Nike, Ralston Purina, Rock Bottom Breweries, Time Warner, Sony, Quad/Graphics and the Department of Energy. As one of two founders of Freemail Inc, I developed innovative website marketing techniques and technology, which garnered the company tens of thousands of website visits per day, and reviews from industry leading magazines (e.g. PC Magazine, PC Week, Success Magazine, Mac Week, Mac User, Windows Magazine), all while the company was still being operated out of the laundry room of my home. I co-founded RemoteScan Corporation and iCloseBy Corporation with my long time friend and business partner Glenn Kreisel.

Steve S. Saroff - Key Points
· 20+ years of software development, management, business and marketing
· Co-founded RemoteScan Corporation.
· Co-founded www.iCloseBy.com.
· Former Co-Director of Internet development for WAM!NET, a partner of MCIWorldCom.
· Managed 200 software developers located throughout the world.
· Founded FreeMail, Inc. and won $1 Million Contract from Kinko's in first year.
· Excellent ability to troubleshoot and interconnect complex systems.
· Entrepreneur, writer, teacher - easy to work with, respected by peers.

 

Business and Management Skill Set
· Management of software development in a high-pressure environment.
· Successful negotiations with large company administration (CEO level).
· Global development planning and strategic development of Internet products.
· Large-scale Marketing, Public Relations, and Guerilla Marketing expert.
· Bringing products from conception to the market place.
· Creating realistic business plans.
· Strategic planning in a wildly changing world - project management across wide ranges of technical dev environments.
· In-depth knowledge of the software industry.
· Writing, with the proven ability to convince.

Technical Skill Set
· Designing and writing dynamic Web pages with PHP,CSS, mySQL and JavaScript.
· Have done professional programming in about 20 different languages, including PHP, MySQL, SQL, C, C++, Java,JavaScript, HTML, Visual Basic, VBA, UNIX Shell, AWK, Informix esql/c, Clipper, Fox Pro, dBase, Access and various assembly languages.
· Expert with Photoshop and other high-end web development tools expert.
· Understanding of many communication protocols.
· Ability to debug hardware and network problems.
· Can administer Web servers and deal with all the drudegery of keeping the technical infrastructure of an Internet company going and secure.

Work History

1/2008 - Present. co-founder of iCloseBy.com. Glenn Kreisel and I created the iFob family of software for the Apple iPhone as well as PCs.

1/2004 - Present. Cofounder of Cynical And Jaded Software Entrepreneurs. Glenn's and my organization we use to help support local events, art projects, and donations. We sponser the two local Missoula non-profit radio sations, as well as many other local causes, under the "Cynical and Jaded Software Entrepreneurs" name. Have to laugh every time we hear/see it. Vist the site: www.cynicalandjaded.com/

1/2004 - Present. President of RemoteScan Corporation.
Technical marketing and sales of Software written by Glenn Kreisel to allow any image scanner to be shared on a network as well as by Terminal Services users. 1,000's of customers located around the world in medical, banking, industrial and commerce applications.

10/2000 - 2002 Founding Partner of EdifyGroup, LLC.
After my obligation at WAM!NET ended, I worked as a consultant for several startup ventures and for established companies, as well working on my own ideas. I work on strategic development and marketing, create and fix system architecture, write marketing copy and code with PHP/mySQL/Java/CSS/XML, etc. My work is done through the Edify Group, LLC., a consulting firm which I co-founded with my business partner, Ray Kang , whom I worked with at WAM!NET, and who is a former Vice President at Qwest, as well as a former Director and Vice President of MCI.

10/97 - 10/2000. Director of Internet Development, WAM!NET Inc.
In October of 1997, Glenn Kreisel and myself sold FreeMail, Inc. to WAM!NET, Inc., a 600 employee global company which was then a partner with MCIWorldCom, for cash and stock which at the time was worth several million dollars to each of our original investors. This involved months of negotiations with lawyers, which I did 95% of the work. As part of this deal, for three years I was obligated to work as an employee of WAM!NET, which specializes in providing secure and managed network file transfer and storage services, and has built one of the largest private IP network in the world. WAM!NET's current customers include Time Warner, Sony, Quad/Graphics and several thousand other 'blue chip' companies. My roles and responsibilities included strategic Internet development planning, management of development efforts and development teams located in five states and two countries (200+ developers), idea direction and focus, nuts-and-bolts of getting those ideas to market, and responsibility for global web site development (managing a team of developers in the creation and maintenance of www.wamnet.com . Same sort of work, just a much larger scale, as I used to do in a laundry room).

6/94 - 10/97 Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of FreeMail, Inc.
I am the co-author of a US patent (# 6,088,516) on FreeMail's core / unique functionality, one of the first successful Internet email systems. As one of two original founders FreeMail, I built a two person company, that started in my laundry room, into a successful company. I was one of the original developers of the FreeMail and FreePrint line of communication software products for Windows, Windows 95, WindowsNT and Macintosh. FreeMail's products included WAN / LAN e-mail and Intelligent e-forms systems and document delivery systems for the Internet and for point-to-point connectivity. FreeMail was selected by Kinko's, Inc. and licensed as their world-wide Kinkonet service, the corner stone of their "new way to office" ad campaign. FreeMail was also licensed to AlphaGraphics for use as their AlphaLink Direct world-wide document delivery system. After organizing the company and working on the core development (in Windows with C), then attracting business partners, my duties at FreeMail, Inc. included managing 10 developers, marketing, meetings with industry CEOs, writing code, authoring Web pages, writing, magazine article and review placement, travel, overseeing product development, as well as planning for product direction.

Pre-Internet work

1/94 - 1/95 Contracted consultant for St. Patrick Hospital, Missoula, Montana.
Oversaw and managed internal and external software development projects for large hospital. Made strategic plans for LAN and WAN expansions, and helped with decisions on major software purchases and installations.

1/93 - 1/94 Sr. Systems Analyst for St. Patrick Hospital, Missoula, Montana.
 Developed large, multi-user database and communication software for hospital. Software was written in C, esql/c, SQL and Clipper on various interconnected platforms (UNIX, Novel, Windows, DOS) All authored programs (approx. 20) are still in active use by hospital and clinics.

1/93 - 6/94 Software Author and design consultant.
Authored the time and billing programs, "BillTime," and "ProjTime" which are still on many shareware "top download" lists. Also did system design and development for several large organizations, including NCAT, and ATTRA (Dept. of Energy contractors), etc.

3/88 - 12/92 Systems Analyst at CK Computer Consultants, Missoula, Montana.
Authored software packages for hospitals, aluminum refineries, plant maintenance companies, medical clinics, government agencies and universities. Software was written in C and Clipper, for UNIX and DOS networked computers. Developed a hospital plant maintenance program that was marketed nationally as "CK Prevent."

4/88 - 6/88 Scientific Member on board R/V Wecoma.
A dream vacation of a job - Tahiti to San Diego. 3 months in the South Pacific. Scientific member (paid) of Tropic Heat 88, a NOA funded research expedition on the equator. Duties involved technical up-keep of software and hardware data acquisition systems. Became a shellback.

3/84 - 1/87 Faculty Research Engineer, Dept. of Oceanography, Oregon State University.
Responsibility for creating several technical data acquisition systems as well as writing software for studies of beach erosion. Ran successful experiments on both coasts. Designed and implemented all phases of hardware and software systems using the most sophisticated tools of the time. Left to move back to Montana to start own business.

Accomplishments from long ago that I feel good about.
· Publications of short stories in Redbook and other national magazines.
· Kayaking through class III - V Western Rivers (terminated by a ruined shoulder :(    )
· Publications of photos in newspapers, magazines and books.
· Summer Field Geologist for Dr. Don Winston, U of MT.
· Editor of Clark Fork Press, a University of Montana Student newspaper.
· Science Teacher, Sussex School, Missoula, MT.
· Electronic/Laser Research Technician at Spectra Physics, Palo Alto,CA.
· Chemical/Explosives Research Tech at United Technologies, Sunyvale,CA.)
· Spent a month walking through the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.
· Geochemical Research Assistant for Dr. John Werenberg, U of MT.
· Honors chemistry Research Assistant for Dr. Ken Watson, U of MT.
· Spent another a month wandering alone through the Bob Marshall and Scape-Goat.
· Spent a month alone on the coast of Vancouver Island, walking, writing and studying.
· Walked 600 miles alone on the Pacific Crest Trail from Canada into Oregon.
· Starting when I was 14, walking 1,800 miles alone on the Appalachian Trail.
· Ham Radio License when I was ten years old.

Education: B.A. from the University of Montana in Geology and Chemistry.

Active and current interests include: walking, writing, playing and recording music, cooking, Burningman, entomology, electronics, chess, go, geology, photography, and ever-obsessive reading and self-study in many directions.

Steve Saroff