Byron McCann
A co-founding partner, previously was a senior investment banker on merger transactions for the software industry, Chief Operating Officer of a Paul Allen funded company focused on multimedia networking technology, and co-founder of a software venture which was acquired by Computer Associates. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Washington Software Alliance, Washington State’s software association.

Mr. McCann has an undergraduate degree cum laude from Harvard College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

After Stanford, he joined Ernst & Young’s (then Ernst & Ernst) national telecommunications consulting practice. He consulted on telecommunications projects for large firms such as IBM/Satellite Business Systems (later acquired by MCI) and Xerox, as well as with a number of independent telephone companies and other common carriers. Subsequently, he was Vice President and General Manager of Pacific Communications, which marketed satellite time for new programs such as MTV, ESPN, and CNN to the advertising industry. TCI eventually acquired the company for its high ad revenue per subscriber. He was brought in as Chairman/CEO of IQ Technologies, a personal computer peripheral firm which developed the Smart Cable, the first universal, serial interface device to connect computers to peripherals and other devices instantly, in order to raise venture capital to fund operations.

He later co-founded and was Chief Operating Officer of genSoft Development Corporation which published dBFast for Windows, the first Xbase-type database development system for the Windows platform. dBFast won Windows Magazine's Top 100 Windows products award in 1992. genSoft was subsequently acquired by Computer Associates International.

He became Chief Operating Officer of MediaLink Corporation when Paul Allen’s venture firm made its first investment in the Company. MediaLink focused on developing a real-time, high throughput, fully synchronized networking protocol, patented as MediaLink, primarily to enable bandwidth intensive, multimedia local area networking applications. MediaLink also developed VNOS (Visual Network Operating System) which was a cross-platform, graphical interface network management application for controlling hardware and software objects on a network.

Mr. McCann joined the Corum Group, as its Corporate Vice President, and specialized in merger and acquisition advisory work serving the software and related industries. He lead engagements that resulted in sales to or investment by GT Interactive Software (a leading digital media publisher), Disney, Xerox, Kewill, QC Data, and SPSS. In addition, he assisted on various transactions resulting in sales to Intel and IMNET.

Mr. McCann is a frequent speaker and co-authored The Investor’s Guide to Fidelity Funds which was published by John Wiley and Sons, New York. He also co-authored Cracking the New E-conomy, published by Washington Software Alliance.

Ted Feierstein
A co-founding partner, previously was a top performing investment banker serving the software industry, a venture capitalist, and principal in two successful venture capital-backed software companies.

Feierstein began his career in the software industry in 1979 as a territory sales representative with publicly traded Timberline Software, one of the country's leading providers of vertical software for the accounting, construction and real estate industries. There he was a top performing sales representative, regional manager and national sales manager. He progressed to Toronto, Canada-based Jonas and Erickson, a venture capital-backed company providing mid-range software and professional services to a broad range of industries. There he was a Vice President and General Manager of J&E’s Midwestern region. Jonas and Erickson grew from $2.5 million in sales in 1982 to $48 million in 1990 when it was acquired by Geac, a $500 million publicly traded, Toronto-based software company.

Following J&E he enrolled in the MBA program at Harvard Business School. After receiving his MBA in 1989, he joined Wind Point Partners, a $126 million Chicago-based venture fund. There he participated in a number of LBO's and traditional early-stage and growth equity financings. Following Wind Point he joined the Corum Group in 1991, a firm specializing in merger and acquisition advisory work serving the software and related industries. There he was the firms top producer, completing more than 20 transactions.

He has taken lead on assignments resulting in sales of companies to EDS, Fifth Generation/Symantec, BDM (a $1+ billion government technology contractor and supply chain vendor) PictureTel, Manugistics (a leading vendor of supply chain solutions), SHL Systemhouse/MCI, Network Imaging (a leading international supplier of imaging technology - C.O.L.D. storage, imaging, hierarchical data storage, and workflow), Borland, E-Systems (a $2 billion public government systems integrator), Safeguard Scientifics (a $1 billion technology holding company), Allen Bradley, Harbinger (a Paul Allen backed leading EDI vendor), Landmark Graphics (a $150 million public software and services company serving the petroleum and geophysical market), Quarterdeck Corporation, Fujitsu-ICL and many others.

His extensive buy/sell-side and hands-on operating experiences add-up to a unique skill-set that translates to maximum value for his clients.