| Issue Date: 7/1/2002, Posted On: 7/1/2002 American Devices CEO has no time for rest Businessman oversees four privately owned firms in Stamford |
| STAMFORD, Conn. � To own and operate a business usually consumes almost all of one's time. Two businesses can be overbearing. Three are usually impossible. For his part, Steve Chainani, 41, oversees four privately-held companies based in Stamford. "I am a very driven person," said Chainani during a post-midnight telephone interview, set because it was his only available time. "There has been no time for a wife so far. My schedule would not allow it. I work about six-and-a-half days weekly." And he was expecting a call at 2:30 that morning to talk to an associate in India. He requires two of his key employees to always sleep near a phone. "It is the game" that I do this for, said the Bombay-born Chainani, who practices the Hindu tradition of yoga to maintain his "sanity � to play the game fair and win." But winning the game of a high-tech entrepreneur, or just earning a profit, can be especially tough during a worldwide period of bogged-down technological spending. Even the best companies have eaten dirt. That makes Chainani's efforts all the more notable. Chainani is chief executive officer of American Devices, which distributes semiconductors and other electrical components to wholesalers or manufacturers in 22 countries. Chainani and his father, Victor, founded the company in 1990. Last year was a big one for American Devices. In January it started selling online at www.semiconbid.com. As part of this effort, it raised $425,000 last year in venture capital. Overall, American Devices generated about $2 million in gross sales in 2001, down between 10 and 20 percent from the year before, and earned a "modest" profit, said Chainani. Not bad for a firm in an industry that is barely breathing. Richard Gordon, a semiconductor analyst for Gartner in Lowell, Mass., said computer-chip gross sales decreased worldwide by 32 percent in 2001 from the year before. Sales returned to the 1995 level of $150 billion. The demand for chips, and not just prices, declined in 2001, which is rare, said Gordon. But Chainani said he improved his company's sales by marketing to countries where chip demand has not dropped as much, such as China and India. American Devices has about five overseas sales representatives and seven employees in Stamford. The demand for chips in China only declined by 16 percent in 2001, said Gordon. Chainani is not only swimming successfully upstream with American Devices, but also with another company in the tough technology sector. Founded in 1998, A.D. Infotech Corp. is a software development and consulting company that is earning a small profit, said Chainani. With about 12 employees, it specializes in e-business. It has received about $500,000 from investors, he said. Last year, it grossed about $1 million in sales � which is a 10- to 20- percent decline from the year before, said Chainani. Douglas Campbell III, a Darien, Conn. business adviser, invested $27,500 into Infotech plus about $75,000 of his "time." Campbell said the company has "done well" serving major companies such as General Electric Capital, but agrees with Chainani that Infotech should be either sold or merged with a larger firm. Infotech is bidding on contracts worth more than $2 million, and it needs to be part of a larger entity to do that successfully, said Campbell. "A bigger firm could provide the capital necessary to provide the services to the broader market," said Chainani. It is not just the laws of business that are forcing Chainani to sell, but also the laws of human endurance. Chainani said he is also selling Infotech and another company called RealHub.com Inc. because the amount of time spent working is "too much for me. I need to lighten up." Founded in 1999, RealHub refers home buyers and sellers to realtors online through a process of competitive bidding. It charges one-fifth of whatever the realtor earns. The company has six employees and obtained about $5.5 million in funding from private and corporate investors, Chainani said. Some of this was venture capital. With about 200 member real estate agents, RealHub has gross sales in the six figures, but has yet to make a profit, said Chainani. He is seeking a second round funding for RealHub. Although Chainani is selling these two firms in part to have more time to himself, don't expect to see him in Margaritaville with Jimmy Buffett. Just a few weeks ago he started another firm aiming to sell generic drugs online called American GenRX Corp. Perhaps it will sell a drug especially designed for Chainani called Relax. |