A water cooler is the only sign of luxury in a loft office space overlooking the Boulevard of the Allies. Inside a conference room sits one of the youngest CEOs in Pittsburgh.

Doug Baker is an articulate, confident 32-year old entrepreneur who is accustomed to being ahead of the race in technology. This sets them up for lucrative job opportunity which often presents itself before the degree. He is on his way to making a difference in the way people interact with technology and the way companies interact with people.

In January 2000, Baker was still a graduate student in the Computer Science department at CMU. A restless entrepreneur, he seized upon an opportunity that presented itself by way of his colleagues Rick Romero, Adam Berger and Clark Slater. Romero brought to the table statistical and neurocience expertise, Baker and Berger had a background in language computation, and Slater had operated a professional consulting company.

Berger and Romero were also CMU computer science grad students who were thinking about what to do after graduation. Berger was close to graduation and wanted to stay in Pittsburgh, so he proposed the idea to start a new company. The response was enthusiastic. Romero opted to take a leave of absence from grad school like Baker, and Slater had already completed his master's degree in Human and Computer Interaction at CMU - so they were ready to go.

They got together and discussed what problems existed in the world that could be solved by combining their various talents. "The wireless market was just starting to take off," says Baker, "and we looked around and realized that if people want to get to the Internet with wireless devices, all existing web pages will need to be translated into the new language of the wireless web and all new web pages will need to be 'wirelessly enabled'." Baker and his colleagues have started a company called Eizel Technologies which solves two problems involving web pages and wireless devices.

One problem is that web pages need to be transformed in order for them to be viewable on a small device with a small display. According to Baker, there are a lot legacy documents on the web which were written in HTML with a large display in mind. These pages need to be transformed in order for them to be viewable on a small device with a small display. The second problem Baker points out is that new devices are coming out all the time so it becomes a huge maintenance and authorship issue for someone to write a document that is appropriate for all of them. Baker's company has resolved these issues by building software that can transform these web pages and makes the software part of the infrastructure of the Internet. "Our software makes it possible to view any document from any device", says Baker. "Thus, no matter what device you're accessing the Internet from and no matter what device a document is written for, you have access." This means that you will be able to use a mobile phone, an organizer, or a pager to check your e-mail, buy groceries or look up an address.

The freedom of not being tied down to a computer is a persuasive element for buyers in this new wireless market and Baker has touched on a necessity for making Internet acess feasible and friendly. "This ability to connect to the Internet wirelessly will foster the development of more and more heterogeneous devices." predicts Baker. "A device specific for talking would be your mobile phone. E-books are devices specific for reading books. There are will be a device for every purpose that makes sense with computing and each of those devices is going to be connected to the Internet."

Does this mean that a new wireless world will eliminate PC's and other computer hardware? "I don't think that your wired PC is going to go away," answers Baker. "However, there are predictions that the number of Internet-enabled wireless devices will exceed the number of PC's in the next few years. So certainly PC's are going to play a diminished role. "But they have a place, if for nothing else than games. There are a lot of good computer games for PC's. But there is also a lot of important productivity software that is not convenient to use on a smaller device. Those applications will continue to be used on PC's. But some users may not get PC's in the future if they don't have the need for that kind of heavy processing power."

While we probably won't see PC's going away completely, we could be entering a future where less of them are needed. According to Baker, there is an evolutionary process going on by merging computing devices into areas where you wouldn't necessarily think of having them today. There are already refrigerators equipped with Internet access, and cars with Internet access are coming soon. Once you can compete on your Playstation remotely with other users, why not add a Web browser? he points out.

Convenience is one of the key concerns driving lifestyle decisions of this new century. Coupled with this is the need for flexible options in computing. There will be various circumstances that demand Internet access on very different devices. But the companies dealing in web commerce do not want to be in the business of understanding what all these different devices are, according to Baker. "They just want to create a document once and do it in one way and then have users access it from whatever device they happen to be using," he says. "That's what Eizel's going to do. That is our mission."

The whole point is to make information available ubiquitously, notes Baker. "That way the authors of electronic documents don't have to worry about what devices will be used to read the information, and the consumers don't have to worry about what device was used to write the information. As the world stands now, if you're on a PC, you can read information from the world wide web, and if you're on a wireless device, you can read information from the wireless web, but the two don't mix, and we see no reason there should be such a barrier. It's really about unleashing information from the devices that create it." With a great idea already in place, the next initial concern for getting Eizel Technologies off the ground was one of funding. When asked about sponsors, Baker said they raised their initial money through what is called an angel round of funding, basically friends and family who support their ideas.

They are currently looking for venture capital and are talking to various firms in Pittsburgh as well as on the coasts. The product is through its initial development cycle. The software Eizel Technologies has developed is becoming refined and something that is easy to use. The company is just now starting its sales process by visiting potential customers and trying to sell them the software and the service. When asked about advertising, Baker said that it was not something they were ready for quite yet. "We don't really have a budget for it, and we don't have the capacity to handle all the traffic it might engender if we were successful," he says. "We've been focusing on large, marquee name customers that we can approach via our own contacts. When we get a relationship with them, that will then allow us (if it doesn't happen before then) to really bring in a large amount of funding. Then we can really start getting the word out." Although selling is the big goal this year for Eizel Technologies, Baker points out that there are a lot of other interesting goals that could be reached by increased revenues. Building a company where as much focus is put on the employee as the product is a concept Baker feels strongly about. "I would like to make Eizel an organization that rivals in my mind what Intel is, which is a great company to work for. So we want to have interesting benefits programs that, for example, support learning in our employees via additional training, or otherwise help them improve their lives. There are a lot of benefit programs especially in high tech start-up companies, that provide daycare services and cleaning services and those sorts of services that really enhance the lifestyle of your employees. One of my big goals is to build Eizel into a company that people want to work for because of the kind of company it is."

Creating a nurturing environment for employees filled with diversity and good ethics sounds like the ideal workplace for a new millennium. Eizel Technologies could set the precedent by creating a family-friendly company where people will want to come to work everyday. Flexibility regarding telecommuting and hours worked is also an option that Baker takes into consideration in keeping people happy. "I'm already proud of one of our employees who is working from North Carolina," elaborates Baker. "His wife was going down there to start law school, and he had just gotten married. There was no way he would have been able to stay here and have her go down there at the beginning of their marriage. So we were happy to be able to accommodate him and let him work remotely, and it's worked out quite well."

Baker's philosophy of success is refreshing in the face of many cut-throat corporations where money matters over ethics and law suits surface daily fueled by disgruntled employees. According to Baker, a company does two things at the most basic level: it makes something, and it sells it. But in order for it to be really strong it has to make something, sell something and be a place where people are happy to work. Pittsburgh could use more young CEO's like Baker who are enthusiastic about the city and would like to see more new companies moving into the area.

Baker found there to be a lot of support for a new company in Pittsburgh. There is a growing influx of capital, and he found a lot of support in the way of expertise and experience. There is starting to be a second generation of entrepreneurs who have done this more than one time and have experience to share. People with new business ventures can get access to this resource through various organizations like the Pittsburgh Technology Council. There are also smaller organizations through CMU, which in it self is a great resource for technical and business talent.

Baker feels that more students are starting to realize that Pittsburgh is a great place to live. He points out that the South Side is really building up and there is a new development on the waterfront in Homestead. There really is a lot to do in Pittsburgh according to Baker. He is impressed with the wide array of cultural activities which range from the symphony to hip hop groups and a night life to rival many other cities. "There are opportunities for getting outdoors by hiking and using the waterways for boating and stuff like that," says Baker. "Pittsburgh has lots to offer and it just needs to be packaged up into a better marketing plan. There's still a perception across the country that Pittsburgh is a black steel city. Even people who grew up here and moved away haven't realized how sparkling Pittsburgh really is."

Baker plans on making his mark on Pittsburgh with a successful new company and a new workplace philosophy, but what about his return to grad school, I inquired. "I have seven years from the time I proposed my dissertation topic which is five years from last February, when I officially went on leave," replies Baker. "So I'll have a number of years to work on Eizel before I really have to make a decision about whether I'll go back or not. The only thing I gave up at CMU by leaving was the guarantee of financial support, so if I go back I have to find a professor who is willing to sponsor me instead of just being guaranteed funding through the department one way or another. Which is fine because if I go back, I now know the process much better."

Being in grad school helped Baker prepare for starting his own company since he was preparing the groundwork, learning about entrepreneurship and learning about how to get funding, in preparation for graduation. But in this case, opportunity presented itself before the degree. "The timing was there," stresses Baker. "We could not wait if we wanted to ride the wave of the wireless revolution."

However, becoming CEO and president of a new company does not come with a job description. Since all the founders came from a technical background, there was much to learn about starting a business. Baker says that the biggest lesson he learned as a technologist coming into business is that it is about people. "Everything is people, and if you are uncomfortable dealing with people and managing people and understanding how people think who don't think the way you think, then you're going to have difficulty.

I'm learning about labor law and accounting and taxes and what it takes to incorporate a company, but none of that makes a great success of a company. Success is made or broken in the ability of the company to make and maintain relationships with customers, funding sponsors, the media, everybody. It is all about people getting to know you and understand what you're doing." Baker points out that managing relationships is also an intrinsic part of funding. "If we want to get funding from a venture capital firm then we need to get the principals of that firm to know us, to like us, to trust us, and to believe that the product that we're creating in our company will be a good investment. We have more success with those companies in which we know somebody because they know us better, they trust us a little bit more, and they are more sympathetic to our cause. It's not the case that a business is an objective, mechanical entity. A business is just a group of people. Every company is just a group of people, and you have to deal with them that way, not as a bureaucratic engine. The way for things to really get done is for you to talk to people. To convince people that what you want them to do is in their own best interests."

When developing a new product, it is always important to think about the competition. When asked about local competition, Baker replied that there really wasn't any. "Although it's really not relevant whether they're local or not because our market is really a global one," he elaborates. "In some senses the United States is not a good market for what we're doing at this time. There are other markets, namely Europe, that use wireless technology to a greater degree than the U.S. does. I don't think there is anybody out there with as broad a view of where they're going as we do, but in the short term there are companies who are attacking the problem and making web pages available on wireless devices, and we're tracking them pretty closely. They're not significantly farther along than we are, so there is still a lot of opportunity for us to make an impact, and the market has certainly not solidified at this point. So we're not absolutely the first movers, but we're in the first pack."

With a talented technical team, a check on the competition and funding in place, the next step was to find a suitable location for the business. Baker feels they got lucky when the ideal real estate spot presented itself. Located at the intersection of Ward Street and the Boulevard of the Allies, they are in close proximity to several universities, hospitals, and interstates. The owner of the building they are housed in is also an entrepreneur. He has his own business on the second floor and proved extremely helpful by providing good terms. "He would like to see this building house two or three high tech companies and be sort of its own high tech center," says Baker, who feels this could actually be a great business district. "It is adjacent to CMU and the University of Pittsburgh, has easy access to downtown and has been very convenient for us," he adds. As important as good real estate is coming up with the right name for your company.

When asked how they came up with the name Eizel, Baker had an interesting answer. "It's sort of in the tradition of a number of recent hi-tech companies," he replies. "Akamai and Inktomi are the two good examples that we use. Akamai is a Hawaiian word that means cool or fun. Inktomi is a native American word that means spider. When we were looking for names, we looked for the standard names like Wireless Technology Inc. or something like that, but all the good names were taken. The short names and the English words were taken. So we just started looking through dictionaries and we found Eizel, which we thought looked like a cool word. The other thing about it is that no one had taken it as a domain name yet so we were able to get eizel.com. And it means 'silly', which will reflect the light-hearted spirit of our company and the way we want to make it a fun place to work. The word silly is very close to fun, and I think we will be able to make the connection a lot stronger, but certainly it's going to reflect the kind of culture that we want to have-not that we're not going to create solid products but that it's going to be a fun place to work because you'll contribute to something important, people will value you for the work that you contribute, and you will enjoy being here."

Kathy Brown Sutton