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Volume 3

Lifeboat, Xedex, and the Transition to Techland

I was first introduced to Lifeboat Associates as a customer. I had been buying software for my business when I received a call from Tony Gold, who offered me a job. My first assignment was to initiate Lifelines, a monthly newsletter. I became its editor, wrote monthly editorials, and was also put in charge of bringing in new software and managing our software catalog — including negotiating software royalty contracts and interfacing with numerous software developers.

Lifeboat was a hub of early microcomputer software distribution, and I had extensive interaction with developers from Micro Focus, TeaMaker, and others. I made several trips to Austin, Texas, and developed a strong relationship with the Balcones brothers, who were behind several of the early productivity software packages. During my time there, I also helped Ford Motor Company develop a PC strategy and presented it to upper management at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. I was deeply involved in the emerging personal computer ecosystem, meeting many people who would later become famous — including Bill Gates, with whom I had numerous conversations.

I also played a role in the birth of PC Magazine. I was present at the meeting with David Bunnell that led to its launch.

Through my relationship with Neil Colvin and Mike Aaronson — Mike had previously developed the P-Mate text formatter — I suggested that Phoenix Technologies should focus on third-party BIOSes, which became a crucial part of the PC clone revolution. On a trip to an Intel developer conference with Neil, we visited Microsoft’s still-under-construction campus and were given a personal tour by Bill Gates himself.

In 1983, I left Lifeboat to form Xedex with an outside investor. Roland Joffe, then Lifeboat's head of marketing, joined me, along with his assistant Rebecka and Bob, who had been Lifeboat’s BIOS engineer. Roland hired Burson-Marsteller, one of the top PR firms in the country, and set up our offices in the Burlington House on Sixth Avenue with views of Central Park. Bob established a hardware lab in Suffern, New York, to manufacture our products — including a board called Baby Blue, designed to make the IBM PC compatible with CP/M software.

Although Baby Blue achieved some early success and press attention, hardware issues with Bob's designs led to internal friction. I left Xedex, taking Roland and Rebecka with me to form Techland Systems, leaving Bob and the investor with Xedex and the Baby Blue product.

Sale to York Research and Becoming Public (1985)

Techland grew quickly. With Richard Clowes, an ex-IBM top salesperson, we grew the company to over 50 employees. We released communication-focused products, including Blue Lynx, which connected PCs to IBM mainframes using 3270 emulation and supported Twinax connections to IBM System/34 and /36 machines. Our software was sophisticated, and thanks to connections from Neil Colvin, we licensed core technologies from elite programmers like Reid Smith, Bob, and Ken Campbell — one of the top communications programmers in the country.

Our client list grew rapidly, and in our first year, Techland did over $2 million in sales, with major contracts from New England Life, R.J. Reynolds, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. We traveled the world — including several trips on the Concorde — to support Techland UK and build global business relationships.

In 1985, York Research Corporation acquired Techland Systems, making us part of a publicly traded company. This marked a major milestone in my entrepreneurial journey and set the stage for the next phase of my career.

Volume 3: The Techland Years (1980–1985)

Founding Techland Systems

After the initial challenges with Xedex and its Baby Blue product for the IBM PC, I, along with Roland Joffe and Rebecka, left to found Techland Systems, leaving Bob with the investor. We established our new company at Waterside Plaza on Manhattan’s East Side, overlooking the East River. Richard Clowes, a former top IBM salesperson, joined shortly afterward.

Our first goal was to bridge the gap between personal computers and IBM mainframes. This began with the development of a powerful IBM 3270 emulator that enabled IBM PCs to connect directly to mainframe systems.

This required not only an add-in card that could support synchronous modem protocols but also sophisticated software. Reid Smith and Bob, two elite communications programmers introduced by Neil Colvin, were instrumental in developing the early software stack. Later, we hired Ken Campbell, one of the top communications programmers in the country.

Blue Lynx and Twin Lynx

The Blue Lynx software suite enabled seamless communication between PCs and IBM mainframes. Later, we developed Twin Lynx, which extended this functionality to IBM System/34 and System/36 environments.

These solutions received strong interest from financial institutions and enterprises. Among our largest early wins were:

We achieved $2 million in revenue in our first year of operations.

Company Growth

Techland quickly grew to more than 50 employees, with development and support teams spread across multiple time zones. I was often traveling — both for sales and technical meetings — across Europe and Asia.

We opened Techland UK, which was established through multiple trips on the Concorde to London, where I helped set up European distribution. I also traveled extensively to China, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian countries as we explored partnerships and OEM opportunities.

Our office in New York remained our headquarters. The East River views were inspiring — a reminder of how far we had come from our humble beginnings soldering early Altair kits.

Press and Publicity

Our products received strong press coverage and were featured in trade publications. Here's a list of some of the media coverage and key product documents (available in the images folder):

Insert links in your static site generator as needed.

This period marked a pivotal evolution in my career: from experimenting with audio and personal computing to running a globally expanding tech company with real influence in the enterprise computing space.