Five
years ago TechGuard Security, LLC, was on the brink of demise. But
that was five years ago.
On Feb. 4, 2005, the company's cofounder, co-owner and president, Suzanne
Joyce, was among a group of information technology-industry executives
attending preview discussions at the White House of OMB's federal
IT budget for fiscal year 2006.
To be included among IT-industry leaders at a White House meeting
is quite a leap forward for Joyce and her start-up tech firm from
the Heartland. But it's just another step in an entrepreneurial progression
for a company whose intriguing trademark phrase is "Great Walls of
Fire®."
That trade-phrase is well-earned and indicative of an industry-changing
product created by TechGuard, a St. Louis-based computer network security
firm. The company serves academic and healthcare institutions, government
agencies, insurance and financial companies, and other commercial
firms with ongoing security protection for sensitive computer lifelines
vital to the flow of information in today's high-tech business world.
But, to arrive at its current status as an award-winning high-tech
firm, TechGuard had to survive one the most devastating days in our
nation's history ... Sept. 11, 2001.
The month before the terrorist attacks the-then-17-months-old TechGuard
was just beginning to show a positive cash flow from the initial government
contract work it had obtained. All federal contracts were frozen after
the terrorist acts. Within months TechGuard nearly froze to death.
Joyce sought help from multiple sources in a desperate effort to
keep her firm afloat. One of those sources — Greg Tucker, director
of the Missouri Small Business Development
Center (MO SBDC) in St. Louis — helped Joyce secure a low
six-figure loan from the Small Business Administration's (SBA) disaster
fund. It served as a critical stopgap.
Tucker's work in securing the SBA disaster loan helped the company
retain personnel and continue R&D efforts, keeping TechGuard solvent
during the lean months immediately following Sept. 11, according to
Joyce.
"Without Greg's assistance with the SBA loan we would have had
to either sell our operations or give up control of the company in
order to survive the effects of 9/11 on our small business,"
Joyce explains. "It helped us hang on until our primary client,
the U.S. government, was back in a position to resume contracting
commitments and we could garner commercial contracts delayed due to
the freeze."
The SBA lifeline bridged a gap that eventually led to TechGuard's
more than 200 percent annual growth rate since 2001.
Tucker also was instrumental in connecting the company to Wayne Harvey,
a colleague with the Missouri Federal
and State Technology Partnership (MoFAST), an SBDC-related program.
Both MoFAST and SBDC are affiliated with the extension mission of
the University of Missouri.
Joyce and TechGuard needed expert guidance navigating the post-9/11
federal contracting process. Harvey was the man for the job. He played
the dual roles of coach and cheerleader in his effort to help the
company secure Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant funding.
After months of detailed laborious work, the multi-stage grant-application
process finally paid off in late 2003 with a $1.45 million award to
TechGuard from the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP). This grant has enabled TechGuard
to pursue research and development on a proprietary "smart"
firewall system.
That system is based on devising neural network engines that can
be "trained" to automatically detect and deflect new and
increasingly sophisticated external attacks on computer systems. This
approach differs from traditional firewall technology that relies
on pre-defined parameters that must be constantly updated with the
development of new security software.
Harvey's guidance and grant-application knowledge helped TechGuard
successfully navigate a process it had fruitlessly attempted to master
four times previously.
 |
| Kevin Machon staffs the TechGuard booth at the
Business Showcase and Legislative Breakfast Feb. 10, 2005, at
the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. |
"Wayne was not only instrumental in our NIST ATP grant success, he
was primarily responsible for it," Joyce says. "His work directly
led to the creation of six high-level IT (information technology)
jobs, the initial production of our industry-changing artificially
intelligent Great Walls of Fire® computer security system, and
a $3 million contract with DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency)."
Because of her firm's dramatic business success, Joyce and TechGuard
Security represented MoFAST at the first Client
Showcase and Legislative Breakfast Feb. 10, in the State Capitol
Rotunda in Jefferson City.
For more information on the services of MoFAST, call Harvey at 314/631-5509
or e-mail him at harveywa@missouri.edu.
TechGuard Security LLC
Suzanne Joyce/President
743 Spirit 40 Park Drive
Chesterfield, MO 63005
636-519-4848
636-519-4850 (fax)
suzanne.joyce@techguardsecurity.com
www.techguardsecurity.com
Visit the current Featured Entrepreneur
