Firepad was founded by Bill Mitchell in December, 1999 with $2.6m from VLG Investments and a number of angel investors. The company immediately acquired Image Viewer III, which since 1997 had been the #1 image software for the Palm platform. Firepad extended Image Viewer into a full-fledged client/server platform supporting high-definition zoomable images, live video, hyperlinks and push & pull updates. Fewer than one in a hundred handheld software companies survived the collapse of the high-tech bubble of the late 1990s. Firepad is a member of this exclusive club by virtue of strict cost control and efficient software development processes. Firepad broke even in the summer of 2001, and does not rely upon venture capital or any other source of outside funding.
