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Published August 20, 2008
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Tieren Zhou Sees Big with TechExcel in Lafayette
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| By Sophie Braccini |
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| Tieren Zhou in his Lafayette office Photo Sophie Braccini
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Tieren Zhou was always driven by success. He was raised in China at a time when private enterprise was not yet flourishing. His father repaired watches and as soon as the government allowed private enterprise his mother started a small business, reselling fashion items. After graduating in China, he came to Kansas University to study chemistry, artificial intelligence and robotics. He had two dreams, becoming a professor and developing his own company. During his PhD work he realized that his Nobel prize ambitions might be out of reach, so he decided for a business career. Since the barrier to entry is high in the chemistry field, he decided to earn an MS in computer science before completing his PhD. His doctoral work focused on laboratory automation, conceptual modeling, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Zhou began working for Kevex Instrument in the fields of quality control and analytical instruments. When he felt he was ready to start his own venture he proposed a subcontract arrangement to his employer. TechExcel was born and within four months he had hired his first seven employees.
Zhou says he discovered there was no program for testing bugs in software, so he invented bug-tracking software -- used by large companies today such as Jenny Craig. He became an expert in the growing field of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) for distributed development teams and uniting service and support with development. His vision is to bring order to the underlying chaos of software design planning and implementation. Zhou says TechExcel's ALM solutions have been designed specifically to manage every aspect of the software lifecycle, from concept to delivery.
Growing a company is not only about developing the best products. In the early days of TechExcel, Zhou confessed that he completely under-estimated the role of sales. “We had one sales person who was the least paid in the company,” he recalls, continuing, “I couldn’t fathom why we should pay a non-research person any serious money.” When he came to the realization that only a solid sales department would allow the company to grow, he looked for the best and brightest in the field. “Now the best sales people are the ones earning the most,” says the CEO with a big smile.
Another important step for Zhou was to start operations in his original country of China. Zhou returned to Beijing in 2005. Seventy people are now employed by the Chinese branch, doing QA and sales. Despite his CEO responsibilities Zhou continues to be the chief software architect. He loves the brainstorming and creative process and says that for him, “good software has a soul.”
Within a few years TechExcel has become a leading provider of ALM, Defect tracking, IT Service Management and help desk solutions. The company now employs 100 people in the United States with offices in England and China. TechExcel reports $20 million in revenue, counts 1200 customers worldwide and about 1 million users.
In spite of a very demanding job and a family with two young children, Zhou has time for another demanding activity: classical singing. In that field too, you won’t find him hiding in the back of a choral group. He works with a private tutor and will be presenting a solo performance on stage at the Orinda Community Church on October 21st. And what’s in his dream for the future? “I never gave up the idea of becoming a professor,” says Zhou, “I will go back to the academic world.” In this area, too, Zhou sees big: His dream is to create his own university, dedicated to software development. |
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| Reach Sophie Braccini at: sophie@lamorindaweekly.com |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA