Salute to Alumni

Trent Hein and Herb Morreale, continued

The Boulder-based company saw six years of steady growth, followed by two years of exponential growth. In 1999, XOR placed 12th in the Colorado Fast 50, the fastest growing technology-based companies in the state, and 248th in Inc. Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing Companies. Today, XOR has 380 employees in Boulder, Denver, Chicago, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Nashville and Atlanta.

Hein says he's particularly proud of the Inc. Magazine ranking because Morreale had set that out as a goal for the company. Morreale is also proud of the company's 2 percent annual attrition rate and the fact that "our first customer in 1991 is still our customer. One of our success factors is that we give our customers solutions that work—not hype," Morreale says.

The company has performed many large projects, including assisting the European Union's air-traffic management agency, Eurocontrol, with its computing infrastructure. In addition to consulting and lecturing on a variety of network-related topics for both government and industrial organizations, Morreale also co-founded the Internet Chamber of Commerce, which has been an important education and communication group for technical users.

"It takes endless drive and a lot of focus," Morreale says about succeeding in the Internet business. "Set your expectations way out ahead. And remember, being an entrepreneur is not a satisfying job—the gratification is way out ahead as well."