IT Team Pools Talents 2IT Team Pools Talents 2

Hard times sometimes generate innovative ideas. When Chris Rimple lost his job as director of program management at a Phoenix software company in June, it meant leaving behind the best management team of his 15-year IT career, which included employers such as Microsoft and Boeing Co. Of the five other managers from his close-knit group, one got pink-slipped at the same time Rimple did. The remaining four felt very little job security, because the company--which he declines to name--had atrophied during the past year from 220 employees to 60, burning through its capital like a five-alarm fire.

But Rimple had an idea. Why not keep the group intact and market themselves to employers as an IT dream team--full-time help with a combined total of 75 years' experience? The others agreed, and that's exactly what the six managers--four of them still employed--are doing now.

The team, with expertise in application development, quality assurance, product management, program management, and software architecture, has the skills and chemistry to get projects done right, Rimple says. "We did three major product releases while I was there, and each one was less than 2% over schedule," in terms of meeting deadlines, he says. The managers have plenty of endurance for late-night projects; they've been known to stay out dancing until 3 a.m.

In Rimple's perfect world, the group would find a business with a new project--or a languishing one--that requires a complete software-management team. The participants are trying to be realistic about it, though. "We know we might have to relocate, or that a company may come to us and say, 'We only need four of you.' We'll consider those on a case-by-case basis," Rimple says.

But in the current economy, there may not be safety in numbers. "It's risky at best," Victor Janulaitis, CEO of IT management-consulting firm Janco Associates Inc., says of the group's approach. "Right now, it's like a product in search of a market. If the economy was hot, it might be worth a shot. The problem is that people aren't in short supply." It would typically take three to six months to find jobs individually, he says, and marketing themselves as a group will prolong that search.

Still, Rimple is optimistic and says the team has already received more than a dozen inquiries from potential employers. But the group is considering other options as well, such as starting its own business. "We have the team and we have a number of software ideas from our individual experiences," he says. "Plus, we know a number of high-powered people in Arizona, and we don't believe that raising money for the right idea would be that difficult."

They're not the only ones who have started an IT business venture after being laid off. Connected Dots, a San Francisco Bay area consulting firm, was established in June by Kai Brunner and Rebecca Kidder, who lost their jobs at Isys Global Internet Solutions in May.

Connected Dots, which provides services such as Web design and business development, consists of a collaborative network of IT consultants who are expected to bring in some clients on their own--the company doesn't have salespeople who track down projects and then distribute the work. The influx of recently fired dot-commers provides ample consultants; there are currently more than 50 in the network.

Brunner says it helps to do business with someone he has worked with before: "We already know we share the same work philosophy."

To get in touch with the Phoenix team, E-mail them at: [email protected]