SIRTI HIRES TECH MUSCLE TO ASSIST CLIENTS

Sirti, the Washington state-funded agency focused on aiding areatech companies grow and prosper, has hired two experienced techveterans to serve as "executive entrepreneurs."

The two, Donald Klein and Scott Broder, will hold six-month paidappointments that plug them into the services network Sirti providesfor its client companies, which can cover a range of industries andcan be based anywhere in Eastern Washington.

Klein and Broder will spend up to 18 hours per month with some ofthose companies assisting business plans or identifying marketprospects and boosting their bottom line.

Klein, 45, is based in San Francisco, where he is vice presidentof marketing and development with Modius Inc., a company thatdevelops energy saving systems for data centers.

Broder, 51, lives in Toronto and has held key jobs with a numberof businesses, including Opalis Software, where he led the companythrough a successful turnaround and helped raise $20 million. Opaliswas acquired by Microsoft.

Most recently Broder was CEO of CanAM Internet, a web companythat operated a number of e-commerce sites in the areas of sports,health and wellness. Broder is moving with his family to Spokane inJune. Klein will live in northern California but continue visitingSpokane as his work commitments require, he said.

Though the state has a job hiring freeze, Sirti ExecutiveDirector Kim Zentz said the two hires are not full-time jobs butsimilar to academic appointments. Sirti has two positions vacant atthis point due to departures by John Overby and Mike Urso.

Klein and Broder will be paid up to $4,000 a month, which assumesthey'll devote roughly 18 hours each month to companies they workwith, Zentz said.

She anticipates their being the first of a regular, rotatingstable of executive entrepreneurs Sirti will bring on to work withclients.

"This will give us flexibility we haven't had," Zentz said.Having different seasoned business veterans on the payroll allowsSirti to focus on the differing needs of companies.

"Some of those (entrepreneur executives) will be good at somepieces of the puzzle, like growth or sales or finance. Some will bebetter at different sectors, and on different points in the businesscycle," she added.

Broder said he hopes to work with companies on day-to-dayoperations and technology strategy.

One skill he said he has sharpened is looking at dozens ofpossible business ideas and honing the list to the essential onesthat make sense.

"With technology strategy, I use the comparison of interstellartravel," Broder said.

"Technology strategy is very important, because if you're off byeven a half of a degree (in plotting a product strategy) you cantotally miss the galaxy you hoped to reach, in terms of a businessobjective," Broder said.

Klein said he's eager to work with the developing cluster ofgreen-energy companies in the Inland Northwest. That group includesReliOn, Flyback Energy and Demand Energy Networks.

"One thing that's unique about Spokane, as opposed to the Bay, isthat everyone in San Francisco is there for the money. But inSpokane, it's clear that everyone here working on a new business ishere because they like lifestyle and they like being here," Kleinsaid.

He sees this area doing a good job of selling itself, both forgaining more brainpower to work in young companies, and in gettinginvestors to back ideas.

"The costs of starting a business in Spokane are much less thanin many other places," Klein said.