Danielle Forsyth — Woman Entrepreneur of the Year

 

Is your database a dullard?

When's the last time your database made a meaningful contribution to national security, brought down a drug kingpin, averted an environmental disaster or even had one good idea about how to improve your operations?

All those could be accomplished by turning databases into "knowledge bases," an evolution being pursued by Portland software developer Thetus Corp.

The company is busily putting out products designed to improve the way bankers, farmers, weather forecasters, law enforcement officers and many others do their job.

What is the potential importance of knowledge bases in the enormous industry of information technology?

"Knowledge bases are the next thing beyond databases," says Thetus co-founder Danielle Forsyth. "We're really at the leading edge of the worldwide software industry."

Knowledge bases, also called "semantic knowledge models," are a concession to the fact that traditional databases just won't cut it in an increasingly non-text data world. If you're in the business of tracking terrorists, for example, there's a lot of potentially critical data being generated by cell phones, satellites, sensors, optical readers, wireless laptops and other devices.

A software program that can collect such massive amounts of information and present it in some sort of meaningful real-time format available to everyone who should see it — but no one else — would be of tremendous value in the intelligence community.

The company works with, and is partly funded by, the Central Intelligence Agency, and "we can't discuss anything we're doing for the Department of Defense or intelligence agencies," says Forsyth.

There are many applications in the private and domestic sectors, however. Banks can use knowledge base technology in fighting increasingly sophisticated cyber-fraud. A weather forecaster might program a knowledge base to send an e-mail alert when a potential storm is in the very early stages of development. A gas corporation can avert a catastrophic pipeline leak. Drug enforcement teams can use the technology with port officials to better identify, track and halt suspicious shipments.

In each case, the emphasis is on "inferred" information searches — as opposed to manual searches — which is where "data" becomes "knowledge" and where the technology can get a bit Orwellian. Thetus's software is designed to discover common trends, patterns and relationships that can be exploited. With semantic knowledge modeling, the emphasis is on identifying problems before they become problems.

Forsyth is well-armed for such a daunting intellectual challenge. With degrees in mathematics and computer science, she started her career at Hewlett Packard Co. in 1980, moving to Tektronix Inc. in 1990. She's been involved in a long series of startups since 1992. Over the years Forsyth and Thetus co-founder Roy Hall have developed business and product ideas for Wavefront, Autodesk, Digital Equipment, Raytheon, Digimarc and Microsoft. They started Thetus in 2002.

"We didn't see a product, we saw a problem," she says. "Information management systems lacked the ability to model complex problems."

The pair have built skills in 3-D modeling, Internet software, security, image processing and storage management.

Forsyth credits Hall with the company's success, citing his intelligence, patience and ability to see the big picture.

Forsyth, however, may deserve more credit than she's willing to accept. She's led the company's successful private and institutional funding drives, and has helped retain the core team of eight that she and Hall put together in 2003, a key to its success.

"Building a committed and driven team is the biggest challenge you have. We have an incredibly talented group of people."

Techies get a lot of flak for lacking interpersonal skills, but Forsyth doesn't believe that making the transformation into a CEO is a great leap for a scientist.

"I think it's easier for someone with a technological background to learn business than it is for someone with a business background to learn technology."

And just as easy to do so in Portland, which Forsyth has grown to love after 16 years. Cultivating a relaxed atmosphere and rewarding success are top priorities.

"Thetus is a very intense place to work and a very fun place to work."

Intense, point conceded. But fun?

"We have bike racks, flexible work hours, go out for a beer on Fridays," she asserts. "We do everything other geeks do to have fun."

So far, due to its highly specialized needs, many of Thetus' new hires have come from outside the local area, a trend Forsyth would like to reverse.

She wants Thetus to be perceived as a team player in the local economy, which she vigorously supports. "We want to be known as a company that is bringing technology jobs to Oregon."

At five years, privately held Thetus is at an age where many software startups are still struggling for funding. Thetus has a record of commercial successes and is in a strong position for continued growth, Forsyth said.

"I won't say that we're making a profit every month, but we're pulling our own weight."