News & Events
CTO's Inventions Started Early in Life
Brian Roundtree, SNAPin Founder Gleaned Advice from Lear, Gates
By Monica Alleven
February 15, 2006
What does a kid who uses his spare time to read surplus books from Boeing do as an adult? A lot, if you're talking about Brian Roundtree, founder and chief technical officer of SNAPin.
Roundtree, 46, was exposed to technology early in his life when his father was part of the team developing the nation's air traffic control system. The senior Roundtree would bring home defunct equipment and let the toddler play with it. The young inventor eventually built a "secret" lab under a stairway in his home, out of eyeshot of four lurking brothers. When his mother found his hiding place, she didn't bust him, for it meant he was no longer leaving his work splayed on the dinner table. "I was kind of a nerdy kid," he says.
Around the age of 10 or 11, that "nerd" came to know Bill Lear, founder of Lear Jet, who helped him get into the composite industry. (Lear also started a car radio company called Motorola that he later sold to Galvin Manufacturing.) At 15, Roundtree enrolled in the University of Southern California, where he studied physics and business. In his early 20s, Roundtree was an independent consultant and worked with aerospace and defense companies on composites that ended up in products like the Boeing 747 and B1 bomber. His goal was to one day focus on software. "I always wanted to have my own business," he says.
Over the years, he ended up starting about six different businesses. Among his mentors was Bill Gates Sr., who helped Roundtree develop a business plan and shared recommendations for future plans. Gates, a lawyer and father of the Microsoft founder, also provided him with inspiration. "He is truly one of the great people of Seattle," Roundtree says.
In 2002, Roundtree started creating a mobile phone e-mail client with a level of automated customer support. When operators expressed more interest in the customer support application than the e-mail part, he left Action Engine and founded SNAPin, where he counts among his current mentors company chairman Tom Huseby, who was the first CEO of Metawave Communications, a manufacturer of cellular infrastructure equipment. SNAPin, based in Bellevue, Wash., develops self-service software for mobile phones.
While Roundtree's latest company requires a lot of his time these days, he still tries to find time to do one of his favorite things – hang-gliding. It was a sport he learned with his father years ago, and one that keeps him soaring.
Article also available on Wireless Week's site.
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