How I Got Started in the Manufacturing Software Business - Part 4 of 4

By Mike Hart

In the fall of 1991, I ran across a classified ad in PC Magazine touting an accounting package that could be purchased for $100, including source code.  Out of curiosity, I dialed the phone number.  A jovial sounding fellow answered the phone and said his name was Rick Atkeson and he assured me that the accounting package with source code for $100 was no joke, and that he had a license to prove it. 

I told him that I was thinking of creating a manufacturing software package for small business, that there was a great opportunity in the local market, but I had no programming experience.  Rick said “why not use me?  I can furnish the accounting modules and my assistant and I could program the manufacturing stuff to your specs and we could share in the profits.”