Ex-Intransa Trio Aids Startups

One startup's loss is another one's gain. That's the way three executives who left IP SAN startup Intransa Inc. view their future.

Next week, execs who weathered ongoing deck-shuffling at Intransa will unveil their Website and take the next step in a business they officially launched on July 12. That business is named APU Global, and the three executives are Avi Katz, Udi Paret, and Peter Wang.

APU Global will assist startups in various sectors, including high-tech and storage networking, get their businesses launched on a global scale. Paret says its first work will be done in the Asia-Pacific region.

The firm will help startups in two main ways. First, APU Global's partners will use their own contacts to help startups form networks of partners and resellers, both at the regional and local levels. Also, the firm will assist companies looking to offset their U.S.-based operations by outsourcing development work in places like China and India.

APU so far is running on the finances of its partners. Paret says they've been ovewhelmed with response. "I thought I would be taking some time off," Paret says. "But I'm falling off my chair. I can't breathe." The partners are in various stages of engagement with two companies in the Eastern U.S. and four elsewhere.Several storage networking companies have inquired about the firm's services, Paret says.

Katz was Intransa's CEO until June 11, when he was replaced by Tom Alexander (see Intransa Trades In CEO). Wang, the startup's former CTO and a founder of the company, and Paret, the former VP of global operations, left earlier this year.

The three aren't talking much about their Intransa defections. "You'll really have to check back with Intransa on why we left," Paret says. But there is no ill will. They view Eric Benhamou, with whom most of the partners worked at one time or another (see Eric the Intransa Gent and Intransa Peeks Out), as a pal with whom they stay in touch, even though he's not directly involved in APU Global.

"Eric is definitely a dear friend to all of us," Paret says.

Though the trio is based in California, APU Global won't have an official headquarters anywhere, if Paret has his way. Instead, the partners will seek to bolster their worldwide image by refusing to be tied to a specific location. Also, they're not thinking of themselves as consultants. "We all of us are entrepreneurs in heart, soul, and experience," he maintains. "This is not a consultancy, but an extended arm for entrepreneurs. We'll help put them in acceleration mode."Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch