Vinny And Dave

The story began in 1994 when Vinny and Dave opened up a shop called PWR Systems, which configured Apple products for the media, publishing and entertainment space. That first yea,r they brought in just under $1 million and started winning all kinds of awards -- the INC. 500, a KPMG award, etc. By 1999, they were up to a run rate of $18 million and decided to put together an IPO. Turned out to be a problem.

"Nobody was interested in a profitable company. People said it wasn't scalable," DiSpigno recalls. "It drove us crazy."

So Vinny, who is a member of the VARBusiness advisory board, and Dave decided to shop around for a buyer. Nasdaq-traded Vizacom came a-courtin' at the end of the year. It was publicly held company on the go. What could be better?

The deal was for $8 million, some cash but mostly in stock, which would come back to haunt them later.

"They were acquiring companies and wanted our systems integration company to be part of that mix," DiSpigno explains.

But just as PWR joined the Vizacom family, the bottom fell out of the stock market. The company started bleeding cash instead of making it. It couldn't afford to make capital investments in PWR that was absolutely needed to make it pop. Like a new accounting system.

"In the end, it was a losing proposition," DiSpigno acknowledges, noting Vizacom ended up selling many of its divisions, including its software and interactive arms. "We got left holding the bag. Everyone else got fired or quit. The company did a 10-for-1 reverse split, and now I have stock that trades at about 5 cents a share when it used to sell at $10 a share. I still have every share."

The company delisted about a year ago, though it's still in operation, waiting on better times. When their three-year employment agreements recently ran out, Vinny and Dave didn't need an invitation. Vinny, Vizacom president and chief executive, and Dave, CIO and vice president, got the hell out.

"They basically wound up with our company," DiSpigno says, with regret. "I will never do that again in a million years. We now value our independence about everything. We thought that all those professionals, the bankers and the lawyers, were smarter than us, but they didn't know our business."

So it's back to the future for Vinny and Dave. They're back on their own, having started a new Apple shop called Webistix that's building engagements in the media space. The company, which began operations this past July, expects to post $500,000 in sales this year. Next year: $2 million.

"When you're running a public company, there's so much to be aware of. Now we can dedicate ourselves to solving customers. No adminis-trivia," DiSpigno says. "What Dave and I ran the business from the seat of pants, we always thought there were people to help. In the end, we knew more than anyone else did. We didn't recognize that fact. Now we do. Without a doubt, we're better on our own."

How about you?