The quartet functions as a sounding board and a system of checks and balances to Becker's executive role. "It goes back to long-term relationships," he says. "Nicole has been in all the organizations. Phil played a kind of interim CFO for VIFI and the bank. They're people I can trust."
The Details
Becker's schedule is carefully orchestrated, which is critical because he encounters a dizzying amount of information every day. At Inception alone he's like Alice being barraged by a deck of cards -- business cards from start-ups eager for help, that is. To organize the particulars, he relies on electronic devices: E-mail, to track progress at his companies through memos cc'd to him; an Outlook calendar that is updated throughout the day; a Palm Vx to keep the calendar current and to read E-mail and capture voice messages when he's on the road; and a cell phone that is on 24-7 and in use almost constantly in the car. But he also uses surprisingly archaic tools -- principal among them a white lined five-by-six-inch pad on which he scrawls random thoughts and a to-do list he composes before leaving work each night. "Being a visual person, I write down a couple of key words," he says. "I have phenomenal recall. I can almost replay meetings [from a few words]."
Becker also organizes his days to leave the most possible time for big-picture issues. Monday through Friday he gets up at 5 a.m. and by 6:15 is perusing his E-mail from home. (Each company has its own E-mail system, but messages for Becker from all four dump into a centralized mailbox.) He's in the office by 7 and uses the next hour as "quiet time," a chance to review a business plan for Inception, say, or some new software for re:Member and to coordinate his day. Then the real work begins. "I don't get into the micromanagement," says Becker. "I bounce around, look for hot spots. If something blows up, [the people in charge] call on me."
EAST MEETS WEST: Re:Member Data's 120 baby-boomer stalwarts joined VIFI's 120 Net Gen employees recently at the latter's headquarters.
Every week, the three larger companies each hold a vice-presidents' meeting; Becker is the only person that attends all three. Once a month, the vice-presidents pull out a strategic plan drawn up earlier in the year to see how the companies measure up. They also provide Becker with monthly graphic reports that compare current activity in key areas -- sales, product delivery, research and development, customer service -- with activity during each of the preceding 12 months. "If a key indicator starts to take a dive, then we have discussions over the next 30 days, before the next report comes out," Becker says.
Becker's workday winds down at about 7 p.m. -- or at least it's supposed to. One night after re:Member Data's move into the VIFI building in July, he was still at the office at 7:30, unpacking among cables that spilled out of cartons like spaghetti at a high boil. The CEO called his wife, Christy, to tell her his predicament. The response? "We're eating dinner and you're not." "So, a little bit chilly," says Becker.
It wasn't the first time Becker's gotten the cold shoulder. At this point the entrepreneur has had as many wives as he has companies. The first marriage lasted for two years; the second for about six months. "I used to count anniversaries by months so I could get to double digits," he says. (Three of Becker's children live with his former spouses; the other two are from his current marriage, which he has been in for five years. "I'm locked in this time," he says.)
But if Becker has achieved stability in his personal life, his desire to launch businesses remains unchecked. Recently, Michael Levine, a pediatric neurologist and president of LSW Software LLC, met with Becker to discuss the possibility of Inception's providing him with financial and business help. LSW makes software that uses voice-recognition technology to fill out the reimbursement forms for health-claims processing. If Becker likes the product, he may suggest that Levine license it to him. That would make Levine's software the first product offering in company number five: a medical-services marketer and distributor.
"I'm not really driven by the money game. It's not 'Go build something, sell it, take the money, move on," Becker says. "The money's nice, and it's kind of a report card, but it's not the motivating factor. I enjoy building something, seeing it grow, seeing it mature."
Thea Singer is an associate editor at Inc.
View the 2001 Inc 500 list .
Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.
