In the two years after Lew Cirne founded Wily Technology in 1997, he assembled an experienced executive team, hired 50 employees, and raised two rounds of VC funding. But he also had to relinquish three of five board seats to his investors, who promptly decided that Cirne should be replaced by a CEO with a stronger business background. CA eventually bought the firm for US$375 million — a far larger haul than Cirne could have brought in, as he admitted. But the founder was still chagrined about the early decisions he made that led to his ouster.
