Cittio: Founder's real estate deals funded the startup

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 24, 2005 -- Software entrepreneur Jamie Lerner was spending as much time working with router saws as data routers when he launched his software company, Cittio Inc., in November 2001.

At a time when there was a dearth of venture financing available, the 34-year-old entrepreneur turned to real estate investing to support the venture.

"It was very difficult to get venture funding, but it was real easy to get real estate financing," said Lerner, Cittio's founder and CEO. "I took the limited funds we had and borrowed all we could get to buy two apartment buildings in Sacramento."

He worked with a construction crew of about a half-dozen people during the day and on weekends to renovate the four-unit and 12-unit buildings near downtown, one a Victorian and the other an Edwardian. He spent his nights writing Cittio's software code.

"I was writing software as fast as I could," Lerner said.

Today, San Francisco-based Cittio generates almost $5 million in annual revenue and employs 15 people. The enterprise software company is profitable with its lead product -- a network monitoring and operations software called WatchTower.

Lerner is the first to say it was not an easy path building the company -- burning the proverbial candle at both ends, maxing out credit cards and suffering from a variety of stress-related illnesses.

Earlier this year, the efforts of Lerner and his team paid off with $3.5 million in first-round funding from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.

The company's clients include Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Hawaii, Capitol Advantage, National Parks Conservation Association, Truckee Meadows Water Authority, and UC Santa Barbara. The company says it is close to signing other major clients but declined to identify them.

"We were impressed with Jamie and his team from the outset," said Doug Hickey, a partner at Hummer Winblad and Cittio board member. "They have achieved strong, consistent growth by focusing on usability and cost effectiveness in an industry that is rife with bulky, over-engineered solutions.

"The company's fiscal responsibility and operational discipline give us enormous confidence that this company is a winner," Hickey said.
taking the venture funding, the company also changed its name to Cittio from JJ Labs.