This story appears in the
August 2005 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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When Infoblox founder Stuart Bailey, 34, discovered moving
to Sunnyvale, California, was a condition of his venture funding,
he knew there was one person he couldn't afford to leave in
Evanston, Illinois: his tae kwon do instructor, Master Soon Chul
Kim.
Bailey's relationship with Kim stretches back to 2000, when
Bailey wandered into the studio below his company's office and
signed up for a class to counterbalance the long hours he was
likely to put in on his startup. Within six months, all 10 of
Infoblox's original team, focused on developing technology to
help companies manage various IT network resources, had signed up.
So when Bailey was faced with moving, he sought to maintain the
culture of confidence martial arts helped nurture.
These days, Kim holds two daily classes for Infoblox employees,
family and friends at the on-site studio to help foster a sense of
community at the company, which anticipates 2005 revenue to reach
between $20 million and $30 million. Says Bailey, "When people
know each other, and they can communicate well and can have that
kind of resonance between each other, they can solve
problems."