Philosopher's Stone Group Grows Its Business
REDONDO BEACH, CA - Despite the slowdown and 9/11, Philosopher's
Stone Ventures made it in 2001. S. Ramesh, President and
Jenny Sakhrani, CFO say the company not only survived but
grew its business. They emerged as Philosopher's Stone Group
of Companies with two consultant divisions - RippleImpact
and Razorwire Security.
Says Ramesh, "the biggest thing we did last year was
survive. A lot of incubators went out of business. But as
our model was a bit different, we were able to beat the
odds."
Giving a brief background, he says, "Our mission is
to work with entrepreneurs and investors to build profitable
companies. We provide entrepreneurs with access to seed
funding, technology resources and management expertise,
while at the same time, providing investors with excellent
opportunities to conduct due diligence and maximize their
profits."
As to the difference in their business model, he says,
"Other incubators provide a large base and networking
for companies dealing more with the infrastructure. We focus
more on the software side, and help companies where they
need help the most, like providing an interim CEO, CFO."
"Another reason we survived," says Ramesh, "is
wise investments. Companies we invested in are real businesses,
so neither did we."
Sakhrani adds that not only did the company grow in terms
of having two divisions, but also signed up valuable partnerships
and alliances.
The divisions are RippleImpact, a high-end technology consulting
services company that develops forward looking and scaleable
software solutions; and Razorwire Security an Internet and
software security development and protection company. Philosopher's
Stone Group is also the parent company of several subsidiaries
that provide an array of services to its incubated companies
like Business Protection Systems International, PremiumCHAT,
ConstructSure and Process Claims.
Business Protection Systems provides disaster revoery planning
and business continuancy planning, very relevant to present
times. PremiumCHAT enables professionals like lawyers, accountants,
teachers to provide services through net-secure chat. ConstructSure
is in the process of creating a bond with an insurance company
which allow it to provide a guarantee that construction
will be done on time and within the budget. Process Claims
deals with auto accidents and provides a single platform
for insurance companies and all other parties concerned.
Philosopher's Stone is a partner of IBM. Says Sakhrani,
"we are one of the few surviving partners of the limited
few they have."
Adds Ramesh, "We went in for partnerships as we wanted
to provide the best possible deals for the companies that
were going to be their vendors. We wanted to help our incubated
companies land the best deals with our partners."
Philosopher's Stone has also partnered with Sun, Epoch,
and Inflow.
Another highlight was meeting Canadian Prime Minister Jean
Chretien in Los Angeles at the Team Canada West Trade Mission.
Both Ramesh and Sakhrani who are Canadian citizens, participated
and were invited by the PM to open an office in Canada.
As for future, expansion is a priority. Says Ramesh, "we
want to expand our security consulting group and the software
side too." With the new year just begun and hope of
better market, there is much to look forward to.
-Amelia M.
Back
For additional information, contact:
Brenda Harris
Philosopher's Stone Ventures
Telephone: (310) 316-3100
Fax: (310) 316-9500
media@philstone.com
http://www.philstone.com
The Philosopher's Stone is a mythical substance that can
transform lead into gold, and produce the Elixir of Life
that makes the drinker immortal. Philosopher's Stone Ventures,
as a technology incubator, has similar transformative powers:
turning the innovative ideas of our entrepreneurs into successful,
groundbreaking, money-making businesses.
