This story appears in the
December 2000 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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Name and age: Michael Metcalf, 37
Company name and description: Sound Advantage LLC is an
Irvine, California, software company that develops and distributes
voice user-interface technology for media like e-mail and the
Internet.
Starting point: In his garage in 1997, Metcalf wrote a
prototype application that he showed to potential investors to
raise $1 million via private placements in exchange for a 10
percent stake in the company.
1999 sales: $2 million
2000 sales: $10 million
Gut check: To keep his business afloat for another three
months, Metcalf's wife agreed to sell their house to free up
$100,000 in equity. She had one caveat: If no offers came within 90
days, they'd pull the house off the market-and he'd look
for a job. A broker called with an offer at 11 p.m. on the 90th day
and delivered the written offer 25 minutes later. "Helen was
absolutely in tears," says Metcalf. They put 3 percent down on
a smaller house that cost $1,000 less per month and invested the
equity in Sound Advantage. Now the company is valued at $250
million. Says Metcalf, "My wife is ear-to-ear grins."
Cash management: Metcalf traded stock for services,
including computers, software, legal services, printing and
cabling. That gave him the freedom to move from one cheap subleased
office to another every six months until he could afford to pay
higher rent in Irvine. "I had a $15,000 credit with the
cabling and printer companies," he says, "so I just had
them recable and reprint stationery each time."
Freelance writer Chris Sandlund is a former editor of
Success and Home Office Computing magazines.
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