Brad Feld

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Colorado’s Vanishing Public Technology Companies

Aug 30, 2006

When I was a teenager in Dallas hanging out at the shopping mall and the skating rink, one of my favorite songs was Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust. 

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone and another one gone
Another one bites the dust hey
Hey I’m gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust

Today, Tandberg Data announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Exabyte for $28m.  This is a sad ending for a company that is a key part of Colorado’s technology ecosystem.  Exabyte was started in 1985 by a number of StorageTek (now owned by Sun) veterans including Juan Rodriguez – a firmament in the Colorado tech and worldwide storage industry.  The company has had numerous ups and downs over the years, including several that I watched since I moved to Boulder in 1995. 

Exabyte joins its cousins StorageTek and McData as two publicly-traded Colorado-based storage-related companies that are no more.  I wonder who’s next (and who the “I’m” is in the chorus.)  Oh well – as Jay Leno used to say “Eat all you want … we’ll make more!”  Dear My Colorado Entrepreneurial Friends – view that as a rallying cry.