Profile
Vaporloop was founded in 2003 by me, Steven Lee. After eight
years of working in industry for several small- to medium-sized
companies and a couple of years teaching web-design and computer
hardware classes I realized there were two main components
to my work that are most rewarding to me. The first is helping
people to understand how to use technology more effectively.
The second is using technology to design solutions that enable
organizations to work more efficiently.
 In
the summer of 2003, while escorting a group of high-school
students on a month-long expedition to Costa Rica, I had the
chance to visit several small villages and towns. I was amazed
at how many homes and small businesses were using the Internet.
Some of these people lived in small shanties, had no car or
television, but they had a computer or access to one. Small
hostels used e-mail to accept reservations. A startup whitewater
rafting company had a web site to inform visitors from around
the world about their expert-guided rafting tours. Many Costa
Ricans understand that technology enables them to reach global
markets, no matter how small or insignificant their business
might seem. A hostel that is now booking 300 stays a year
over the previous year's 150 stays is still not making a lot
of money compared to what Americans earn. But to the hostel's
proprietor, business has doubled.
 While
on the trip I was reading Thomas Friedman's The
Lexus and the Olive Tree - Understanding Globalization.
One of the topics Friedman brings up is how people in emerging
and third-world countries are using the Internet to lower
barriers to not only trade, but culture. The village or region
is no longer the only market available to these savvy entrepreneurs.
Instead the entire planet is now full of potential customers.
While lying in a tent shared with two students (and therefore
unable to sleep) I was thinking about the book and thinking
about how many businesses I knew back home in technology-abundant
Massachusetts that had no conception of how technology could
help their businesses. Through the remainder of the trip I
started thinking about how I can help the small companies
in my area employ technology to streamline and expand their
business.
That's the story of what inspired me to get my own small
business started. In case you may want to see something a
little more formal, my résumé
is available for you to review as well.
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