Name: Kevin Przybocki
(MBA ’91), VP, Sales & Marketing
Company: Anué Systems
(founded 2002)
Location: Austin, Texas
Web: www.anuesystems.com
Przybocki
Photo by Shad Wilson
Elevator pitch: Anué Systems is a technology leader in next-generation data communications testing. We make network emulators that are designed to test network software and hardware by injecting impairments like errors or delays into network traffic on fiber-optic or copper cable. If you are an equipment maker or network manager, you can use our product to make sure your routers or switches are going to work even if there are problems.
How we got the idea: There are four of us who founded the business. Hemi Thaker, our president and CEO, had worked at a chip company and with network equipment companies, and he saw impairment testing becoming important for next-generation networks. With their higher bandwidth and increased traffic, these advanced networks were more susceptible to delays and errors. The amount of data en route was huge. If there was an error, you could lose a lot of data.
Best decision: Deciding to self-fund the business. We didn’t raise any venture money, and as a result have maintained complete control of our business. We talked to customers, learned what they needed, and built solutions for them. We grew the product from there. None of the four founders took a salary in the first year. It was a real challenge, but we were very committed.
Biggest surprise: The area we launched into — the niche of network emulators — turned out to be just the right size. It’s not too small — we’re growing nicely — but not too big, so there aren’t a lot of other people in it.
What I’d like to do over: We were very hands-on in the beginning. We might have realized sooner that we could use technology and outsourcing for functions that weren’t our core strengths. You don’t need to be an expert at everything.
What keeps me up at night: We grew this business to 26 employees and more than 100 global clients while being involved in every detail, but that’s not scalable. Now, the key to success is getting the right people and empowering them to take it to the next level. How do we know we’re going to be good at that? If we’re lucky, the people we’re hiring will do things even better than we do them now.
On deck: International expansion is the biggest thing we’re doing now. There’s so much opportunity overseas.
— Margie Kelley
