A colorful trio of local technology veterans has teamed up to make software for Apple Inc.’s iPhone.
Dennis Morin and Phil Huber, who first got together in 1987 to start local business software maker Wonderware Corp., quietly started Irvine-based BeamItDown Software LLC a few months ago.
They added Lawrence Fan, a software programmer, to complete the three-man op-eration. Fan is a former colleague of Huber’s.
BeamItDown makes an application called the iFlow Reader for reading books on the iPhone.
It’s different from other reader programs out there,of which there are many,in that text is presented in a scrolling format, sort of like a teleprompter.
The speed of the flowing text can be adjusted by tilting the device at an angle.
Other readers mimic books by using a page-like format where the reader actually “turns” the pages by touching the screen.
The company sells digital books with the reader in various packages. A group of 50 classics, along with the reader, goes for about $10.
The iFlow Reader has seen some success and received favorable reviews on a slew of tech Web sites.
Morin declined to say how much revenue BeamItDown has pulled in.
“We’ve had hundreds of thousands of downloads so far,” he said.
Morin, who helped fund the startup, said he was interested in tinkering with the iPhone because he was “kind of bored.”
“I view the iPhone as a huge opportunity,” he said. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is amazing.'”
Morin was captivated by the thought that a handful of developers with a good idea could put out a product without any of the trappings of running a more traditional software business.
The startup’s costs are minimal, offering big profits.
A little less than a year ago Apple released a software development kit that allows virtually anyone to develop iPhone applications. The kit costs about $100 for an annual download.
Applications are uploaded to the iTunes store where people can purchase them. Apple sends developers about 70% of the revenue from their applications’ sales.
“There’s never a physical manifestation of the product,you never have to ship anything,” Morin said. “You need to code, create art and write some copy. You don’t need a billing department or any of the business infrastructure you would normally need for a company.”
Morin sees potential to “make millions.”
“It’s a really sweet deal and a great little business,” he said. “Here you have a program that sells for a buck and you can sell millions of dollars worth. A three-man company can easily do multiple millions in business a year. So what’s not to like?”
Huber, 50, jumped at the opportunity to work with Morin, who he’s known for more than two decades.
“They are phenomenal from a talent standpoint and there’s nothing better than working with people who are really gifted,” Huber said.
Besides a love for new technologies, software and startups,the three have something else in common.
They’ve grown weary of the rat race involved with managing large companies.
“You don’t start your own business unless you are somewhat of a misfit in the corporate world,” Morin said. “You do it because you want to do things your way and you don’t want to be constrained by other peoples’ rules.”
“All of us have been mangers in companies,” Huber said. “None of us wants to do that anymore. We’ve all done it in our past lives and it’s not fun. Doing the technical work and not having any of the BS to deal with is absolutely ideal.”
Fan and Huber do the software development.
Morin does the user interface design, pricing, packaging and marketing.
All three have a financial stake in the venture and share profits.
Next on deck, Morin is interested in de-veloping a simple grocery list application.
Existing list applications for the iPhone are “tedious,” he said.
“The biggest problem with most applications is they are developed by programmers who know how to code but don’t really give much thought to the user experience,” he said. “You have to understand how the user likes to use the phone. It has to flow the way the user thinks.”
Morin’s Background
Morin made millions when Wonderware, which makes industrial automation software for manufacturers, went public in 1993.
Wonderware was one of the earliest companies to develop what’s called “human-machine interface” software, which allows workers to control machines in a factory via a control room full of computers.
The company, now based in Lake Forest, was bought by the predecessor to Britain’s Invensys PLC in 1998 for $375 million. Wonderware, which has an estimated $200 million in yearly sales, operates as an independent unit.
After Wonderware, Morin did a few short stints at startups in the past dozen years.
He’s cemented his reputation as a “software playboy” by surrounding himself with all of the accoutrements of a luxe life.
He lives in the famed Rock House in Laguna Beach, sails and whips up gourmet meals in his chef’s kitchen.
Lately he’s been into digital photography and perfecting a homemade pizza crust, among other passions.
The Rock House, an architectural feat that appears to be organically growing out of a cliff overlooking the Pacific, “continues to be my one claim to fame, it seems,” Morin said.
“I had no idea when I built it that it would become such a curiosity.”
Morin, 63, said he doesn’t think of retiring.
“When you retire, it can get boring as hell,” he said. “The intellectual challenges and the social aspects,it’s very easy for those things to just disappear. There’s something about doing stuff that keeps you interesting. For the three of us, this is like heaven.”
