Start-Up
Start-Up
Monday, February 20, 2006; Page D05
Name: Bent Systems
Location: Fairfax
Funding: The company raised $170,000 from the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology and expects to close on $180,000 from angel investors in the next two months.
Big idea: Now that many companies have new radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking technology in place, they are generating mountains of data but have little means to interpret it, said Sylvanus Bent, founder and president. That means they aren't capitalizing on RFID's potential, he said. Bent Systems created software that will help businesses understand and use that data. The company is focusing first on supply-chain and asset management. RFID is used to track and manage inventory, improve distribution and prevent theft. Bent hopes the product will be ready in the second quarter.
How it works: The company's application is built on a framework that works across many industries, Bent said. Then the application is tailored to the needs of a specific industry or customer. The company plans to cultivate partnerships with system integrators and consultants. "We want to build solutions that they understand," Bent said.
Where the idea was hatched: Bent came up with the idea when his neighbor's home was burglarized. "She said 'I don't even know what they've taken,' " recalled Bent. "I realized RFID could be a way to solve that problem and a lot of other related problems."
Price: License and subscription pricing models will be available, Bent said. Pricing will depend on the industry and the customer.
Founded: 2004
Who's in charge: Bent.
Employees: Four.
Web site: http://www.bentsystems.com
Partners: Sun Microsystems. The company also works with major hardware providers and small systems integrators in the area and is looking to build new relationships.
What the name means: "It's my last name," Bent said. "It's an analogy to the shape of a curved wave surface, and we liked the play on words of 'bent on success'."
Where will you be in five years?: "I think RFID is going to be a huge success, and we're going to be part of it because we've been playing an important role in formation," Bent said. He is a member of the standards body EPCglobal Inc.
-- Andrea Caumont
