With help from the Iowa State University (ISU) Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a new high technology company was able to retain a key employee, which had an indirect impact on substantial funding for the company, the retaining of four jobs, and the creation of one new job.

iSEEK is a software company with an innovative, shape-based search technology that is useful to engineers, chemists and medical professionals. The company’s first application, CADSEEK, allows engineers to search for parts using a part shape (such as a gear or a bushing) as the input, which results in the finding of all similar shapes in the company’s part database. The company’s employees are highly trained software engineers, mechanical engineers and mathematicians, typically with advanced degrees. iSEEK was founded by Dr. Abir Qamhiyah, a former Iowa State University professor of Engineering, and Dr. Don Flugrad, currently a professor of Engineering at ISU. Even though the company was founded in February of 2004 in the Iowa State University Research Park, SBDC involvement began twelve months earlier when the ISU Center assisted the company with analysis of the market potential and negotiation of a license to the technology, which the founders had created as professors at ISU.

SBDC staff helped prepare the initial business plan, and recommended the company to the Wellmark Venture Fund for $50,000 of convertible debt financing, which launched the company in early 2004. This was followed up with an additional $150,000 of convertible debt financing from Ames SEED Capital, an additional round of financing from the Wellmark Venture Fund, and private equity investments from five area angel investors.

Because of the highly technical nature of the work, and the small size of the company, employees are a critical asset. One of the company’s four employees, a Chinese foreign national with advanced degrees in mechanical engineering and computer science who was working under an H1B visa, had been recruited away from another firm. The employee had previously used legal counsel from outside the state for the original H1B application, and engaged that same firm for transfer of the H1B visa from the former employer to iSEEK. The application was denied by the Immigration Service (INS), and the employee was no longer allowed to work for the company, pending resolution of the matter.

The SBDC was asked to help interpret the letter from the INS and assist the company in retaining the employee. Given the company’s scarce resources, a difficult decision was necessary to determine whether further expenditures were warranted to try to keep the employee on staff. A review of the denial letter and the original application materials showed that the primary problem was the position description, which did not capture the specialized nature of the position and the fit of the employee because of her advanced dual degrees. It was determined that there were two possible courses of action—an appeal or a reapplication. Although the appeal would be far less costly, it would also be a much longer process with less predictability, during which time the employee would be banned from working. The SBDC engaged the assistance of immigration counsel that the SBDC had worked with before, and the decision was made for reapplication. SBDC staff participated in rewriting the application materials and assembling the necessary support for the reapplication.

The ISU SBDC marshaled support in writing from city officials, investors, and a Congressional Representative to make a strong reapplication. A local attorney was recommended rather than the one the employee had previously used.

The key employee was awarded a new H1B visa. This allowed iSEEK to stay on track with its development efforts and was likely a critical asset in achieving a sale with the company’s original customer. In addition, because of her unique skill set, the loss of that employee would likely have required the hiring of two employees to replace her, resulting in additional drain on cash flow. The company has stayed on track with its development process and customer interaction, allowing a significant round of venture capital to be raised.

Abir Qamhiyah, founder and president of iSEEK Corporation, says, “Our existence as an Ames-based technology start-up would have been questionable had it not been for the assistance and support provided to us by the ISU SBDC.”