Michiganders starting their first business may want to take some pointers from Vinay Gupta. The University of Michigan MBA graduate spends his days in a small, bare-bones office near Ann Arbor's airport working on his sixth start-up company, Janeeva Inc.

The 46-year-old is one of Michigan's most successful serial entrepreneurs, but few people outside the venture capital community know of him.

That's not surprising. In a state that has traditionally embraced auto barons and car guys, Gupta represents a different kind of future.

"There's nothing more fun than this," Gupta says of launching and growing companies. "It's an adrenaline rush."

No one knows how many serial entrepreneurs reside in Michigan. Local venture capitalists frequently lament that the state suffers from a lack of talented managers to take start-ups to the next level.

"I wish we had more serial entrepreneurs," said Rick Snyder, chairman, CEO and cofounder of Ardesta LLC, an Ann Arbor venture capital firm focused on technology companies. "There are not a lot that have done two, three or four" companies.

In 2000, at the height of the Internet bubble, Gupta and his partner, Hal Davis, sold their Ann Arbor online bill payment software company, BlueGill Technologies, to CheckFree Holdings Corp. for $250 million.

With the sale, BlueGill, which got its start in a barn in Dexter, became one of the most successful start-ups in Ann Arbor's history.

"It was very intense," Gupta recalled recently. "We went from zero to 150 employees really fast and raised a lot of money. It was a lot of fun."

Today, Gupta is hoping for another big hit with Janeeva, which makes software that helps Fortune 500 companies manage their outsourcing relationships. It's named after Geneva, the Swiss city famous for its neutrality, because the software acts like an independent third-party tool.

More than four years into the process, Janeeva boasts some big-name clients (none of whom want to be named) and employs 11 software developers and salespeople, including some who worked at BlueGill. Like many start-ups, it has modified its business plan and isn't profitable yet. But that hasn't discouraged Gupta.

"As an entrepreneur you always have an optimistic point of view," he said. "If you are not optimistic, you are not an entrepreneur because the odds are against you."

All of Janeeva's customers reside on the East and West coasts, so Gupta travels often. Unlike many local entrepreneurs, neither family nor business ties keep him in Michigan. Gupta grew up in New Delhi, India, and first came to the United States in the 1980s to earn a business degree.

"I love the environment in Ann Arbor," he said. "The university adds so much value."

But he admits, "These days in Michigan, it's become harder finding money and customers. As an entrepreneur, you go where the money is."

Though Gupta is neither an engineer nor a software developer, he's fascinated by how technology can be used to solve business problems.

"He wants to change the way the world does things," said Thomas Kinnear, a Janeeva investor and board member and the executive director of U-M's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Kinnear, who used to teach Gupta and was a BlueGill investor and director, says his former student is more than just a finance geek. When a critical deal for BlueGill seemed on the verge of collapse, he recalled how Gupta quickly got on a plane and came back with the contract the company needed.

Gupta got his first taste of running his own business at age 29. He quit a job at Zenith Electronics in Chicago to help start a consulting company that set up local computer networks.

After three years, Gupta sold his share of the firm to his partner. After a brief stint at NCR Corp. in Ohio, he moved to Singapore in 1995 to head Cabletron Systems Inc.'s Asia Pacific business. Cabletron soon sent him to Ann Arbor, where it had just acquired a local company, Network Express Inc.

In the summer of 1996, Gupta got together with Davis, a U-M classmate. One discussion led to another and Gupta decided to once again leave the security of corporate life.

After BlueGill's sale, he worked briefly for CheckFree, then took nine months off before joining Ardesta. At the firm, he helped launch three U-M spin-off companies: Sensicore, Discera and Translume. General Electric Co. bought Sensicore's assets this spring, and the other two tech firms are still in business, though one has moved its headquarters to California.

At the time, none of the companies required a full-time CEO. But when they did, Gupta got out of the way because they needed leaders with technical expertise that he lacked.

Overseeing three companies simultaneously didn't overwhelm Gupta. "Most entrepreneurs tend to have a certain amount of ADD," he said wryly.

Vinay "knows what's needed to build a young business," said Ardesta's Snyder.

After leaving Ardesta, Gupta taught an entrepreneurship class with Davis at U-M's Ross School of Business. While teaching, he realized that outsourcing was going to be the next big business trend. That idea, followed by six months of research, formed the seed for Janeeva.

Like many successful entrepreneurs, Gupta tells it like it is, and he doesn't sugarcoat his views about Michigan.

"Young people don't want to live in Michigan," he said. Like many others, though, the married father of an 11-year-old boy lauds the state as a good place to raise a family.

The veteran entrepreneur sees the need for a change in mindset.

"We don't celebrate failure enough here," he said, recalling how the computer maker Apple Inc. many years ago used to look for entrepreneurs who started businesses that fizzled.

"You go to California, and it's not considered a big deal if your company goes under," he added. "Here, if your company fails, you're considered a failure."

To dramatically increase venture capital investment in Michigan, Gupta says the state needs its own version of Google or Dell, a company so wildly successful that it becomes a household name.

"You need one big success," he said.

Gupta also believes Michigan can help foster a more entrepreneurial culture by providing incentives for large companies to buy products and services from local start-ups. Another idea: hold forums for start-up businesses to meet with potential customers.

So what does it take for a person to make it as an entrepreneur? "Persistence," Gupta says. That proved critical at BlueGill when 40 to 50 venture capitalists turned down invitations to invest.

"A lot of people said it was a stupid idea," Gupta said without a trace of bitterness. "Don't take 'no' for an answer."

"If you are not optimistic, you are not an entrepreneur because the odds are against you."

Vinay Gupta, who says Michigan needs its own version of Google or Dell.

VINAY GUPTA

Who: CEO and founder of Janeeva Inc.

Career: Co-founder of BlueGill Technologies. After BlueGill's sale in 2000, he became entrepreneur in residence at Ardesta LLC, where he served as president of three tech companies: Sensicore, Discera and Translume. Before BlueGill, Gupta worked in a variety of positions at Cabletron Systems, NCR Corp. and Zenith Electronics. He has also taught entrepreneurship classes at the University of Michigan.

Education: BA in economics from the University of Delhi and MBA from the University of Michigan.

Age: 46.

Personal: Ann Arbor resident. Spends his spare time with his wife and 11-year-old son.

ENTREPRENEURIAL LIFE

Here are some words of wisdom from serial entrepreneur Vinay Gupta for those trying to become their own bosses for the first time or thinking about starting their own businesses:

*"You need to be really curious about things. It's not an 8 to 5 job. It's a passion."

*Having support from your family is important because "you will go through good and bad times."

*Venture capitalists have a saying, "An 'A' idea with a 'B' team is not as good as a 'B' idea with an 'A' team."

*"Every day is a learning experience. You learn about yourself."

*If you have a business idea, talk to many people about it. "Make sure you've really validated the concept extensively with a lot of people."

*If your business idea will generate $100 million in revenues in five years or less, "you should take venture capital. It gives you the ability to scale your business very fast."

Contact KATHERINE YUNG at 313-222-8763 or kyung@freepress.com.

ILLUSTRATION: Photo

CAPTION: Vinay Gupta, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Ann Arbor's Janeeva Inc., spoke candidly at a May meeting of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs: "I've never been able to raise money when I've gone out to look for it." Instead, West Coast venture capitalists have come to him.

MADALYN RUGGIERO / Special to the Free Press

Vinay Gupta said the stigma of a failed company discourages entrepreneurship in Michigan and that his clients are in the East and West.

CAPTIONWRITER: MADALYN RUGGIERO / Special to the Free Press

DISCLAIMER: THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE

The University of Michigan MBA graduate spends his days in a small, bare-bones office near Ann Arbor's airport working on his sixth start-up company, Janeeva Inc. The 46-year-old is one of Michigan's most successful serial entrepreneurs, but few people outside the venture capital community know of him. In 2000, at the height of the Internet bubble, Gupta and his partner, Hal Davis, sold their Ann Arbor online bill payment software company, BlueGill Technologies, to CheckFree Holdings Corp. for $250 million.