SignetX Inc.

AuthorPeterson, Eric
PositionTech Startup of the Month

Where: Denver

www.signetx.com

Founded: June 2004

INITIAL LIGHTBULB

After more than a decade in the teleconferencing business--including two stints as president of Westminster-based ConferTech International Inc.--Don Poulter decided in 2004 that a change was in order. "It was time to look at doing something entrepreneurial," he said. With a team of four co-founders in tow, Poulter "stumbled onto this market called rights management"--solutions to control who can edit, print, distribute, and otherwise manage electronic files like Microsoft Word documents and e-mail. Poulter and company liked the market because it was young and it had a sweet spot--small- to medium-sized companies couldn't afford existing solutions, and installation and support were headaches. So they set up shop in a former warehouse in Denver's Highlands neighborhood and developed a subscription-based solution that would be affordable and user-friendly for that very sweet spot. Poulter now serves as CEO of the nine-employee SignetX, which derived its name from signets--the rings emblazoned with insignia to stamp on an envelope's wax seal back in the days of scrolls and messengers. Poulter says the company does the same thing, only with much higher technology.

IN A NUTSHELL

SignetX released its service, dubbed the Executive Solution, in February. For fees starting at $99 per subscriber per month (and going up depending on the number of recipients), users can control access to any and every file they create. SignetX's website has an intuitive control panel that allows "originators" of documents to classify recipients as readers, reviewers or contributors. "We never touch the file," noted Poulter. "All we do is manage the licenses." When the document is distributed, its creator merely right-clicks to create a sealed version to distribute. When recipients try to open, edit, print or distribute it, the document first checks with SignetX's servers to make sure they have the proper authorization.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Subscribers can also view activity logs that track who did what--viewed, printed, edited, etc.--and when. SignetX's product is built on the technology of Los Gatos, Calif.-based SealedMedia Inc., which caters to larger businesses that install and support the product itself and whose installations typically total $100,000 or...

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