Life on the frontier is full of risk, reward

By ELIZABETH ROSS WHITE
Special to Essex County Newspapers

Four entrepreneurs who live or work on the North Shore took time to share their thoughts on the challenges and rewards of running their businesses.

Smart technology leads the way

J. Stuart Moore and partner Jerry Greenberg, co-founders of Cambridge-based Sapient Technology, sit at the helm of a multimillion-dollar Internet technology consulting firm.

With close to 2,000 employees and 12 offices in the United States as well as in London and Sydney, Sapient is a major player in its field. Founded in 1991, revenues have climbed to more than $250 million.

Focusing on Internet and e-business consulting, Sapient helps companies do business online. Among the company's clients have been BankBoston, Hallmark and Hewlett Packard. With the exploding Internet market, there's plenty of room to grow; Moore projects Internet consulting will grow by 65 percent a year for the next four years.

"The Internet is going to change business and industry more than anything in the last 100 years and it's exciting to be in the middle of it," he says.

Getting the business started, however, was a challenge. The two began in the basement of Moore's father's office in Beverly Farms. Moore was 28 and Greenberg was 25.

"Jerry and I kind of pooled our joint life savings," says Moore, "and maxed out all our credit cards to fund Sapient. We called on everyone we knew _ friends, family."

Another obstacle was establishing credibility. "Our first deal was very small and paid only $1,200," recalls Moore. "But we were really doing great work for people and building great relationships with our clients. We built our business on repeat business through doing good work."

Moore, his wife, Elizabeth, and their four children live in Manchester-by-the-Sea. "It's very relaxing to come out of the city every day to Manchester," says Moore. "I don't mind the commute because it allows me time to think about stuff and plan my day."

A business on the move

Entrepreneur Arlene Willard likes to plan, too. Her Marblehead-based business, Women on the Move, helps people move.

Here's how it works: Women on the Move crews pack household items and prepare them for moving trucks. After a relocation, the crews unpack, including setting up the kitchen, making beds and hanging clothes in closets.

Although her crews supervise moves, Willard leaves virtually all the heavy lifting to professional moving companies.

Willard got the idea for her business after helping friends move. "When the movers left at 10 at night, the boxes were stacked to the ceiling, everyone was tired and no one knew where the tissues were, never mind a toothbrush or sheets."

Currently, 22 women employees work part-time for Willard. Men, usually college students, are hired occasionally during the summer for tasks involving heavy lifting.

The business works frequently with women executives involved in corporate relocations. Willard also helps with moves to assisted-living facilities.

At first, it wasn't easy getting out the word about the business or earning respect from others in her field, admits Willard.

"Some of the major moving companies didn't take us very seriously. They do now," she says.

Business has also proved lucrative. Each year, it almost doubles, says Willard.

But money isn't everything, she says. Liking your work is what really matters. "It has to make your soul sing and you have to want to do it."

Humor always helps, too. "I take my business seriously but it's not all that serious. You have to have the joy and the laughter."

Tracking down the right shoe

Entrepreneur John Arnold has a lightness in his step. The Rockport resident is building a successful business around his unique invention _ golf sandals.

Sore feet from traditional wingtip golfing shoes convinced him his idea would work. So he glued golf spikes on the bottom of his son's Teva sandals.

"This shoe was designed to be comfortable and also (conform) to the mechanics of the swing," he explains. Once the design was perfected, the sandal caught on, and his company, Back 9 Inc., was established in 1995.

Today, Arnold has four employees plus a warehouse in Gloucester.

Golfers can buy the sandals on the North Shore (John Tarr Store in Rockport and Larsen's Shoe Store in Gloucester), in Provincetown at Mulligan's, and even through the Neiman Marcus catalog. You also can buy the sandals online through the company's Web page (www.back9.com).

Arnold is kicking around ideas for ways to increase traffic on his Web site. One idea is to feature a special online golf game scoring system to connect visitors with other amateur players around the world. For a golf footwear company, that could be just the right fit.

Insurance on the cutting edge

The game of raising capital is always on the agenda of Stuart Robbin. The chief financial officer of Insurance Holdings of America (IHA) has been raising money since this 500-employee company opened 3 1/2 years ago. The Beverly-based firm, founded by former CEO Brian McCarthy, sells Internet technology to businesses for retail insurance sales.

IHA is working to install online insurance kiosks at 450 Sam's Club stores, which are operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. With franchised independent agents manning the kiosks, consumers will be able to buy insurance right in the stores.

Meanwhile, in auto insurance, IHA will work with Ford Motor Co. to equip Ford dealerships with their technology. Then Ford can sell car insurance to its customers before they leave the showroom.

Hurdles along the way have kept life interesting. "The real challenge was getting people educated in what we were trying to do," says Robbin. It wasn't easy getting the traditional insurance industry to accept the company's revolutionary approach through e-commerce, he says.

Another obstacle was financing. But hard work and perseverance have paid off. So far, Robbin has raised $108 million in private equity.

And, despite initial stumbling blocks, the company continues to grow. Last year, revenues were just under $2 million. This year, they are projected to come in between $9 and 10 million, says Robbin.

Having a North Shore location has been an asset, he says. Formerly based in Peabody, IHA is now headquartered at Beverly's Cummings Center. "It's a great area, and we are real thrilled to be in Beverly _ and we have been able to attract terrific people."