Risk Takers

Software business adds up

Photo Gallery John Estep, founder of E/Step Software Inc. in his office in rural West Valley on March 7, 2011. E/Step's software, The Finished Goods Series, allows manufacturers to predict demand for their products so they don't sit on shelves too long or are understocked. (TJ MULLINAX/Yakima Herald-Republic) Buy Risk Takers Photos

By LEAH BETH WARD

Yakima Herald-Republic

When as a graduate student in the early 1970s John Estep learned the groundbreaking computer language known as APL, he knew he had discovered math on steroids.

And he was hooked.

The programming language, which requires the ability to think in the abstract — arrays, vectors, functions — contributed largely to IBM’s domination of the computing industry in the ’60s and ’70s.

Estep, 61, used APL to parlay his love of math and computers into a successful career writing software for major manufacturing companies seeking to improve their ability to forecast demand and control inventory costs.

“Applying computers to manufacturing and distribution really fascinated me and I realized there was a lifetime worth of work I could do and really be satisfied with,” the Yakima native says.

After founding E/Step Software Inc. near Boston in 1983, Estep moved the corporation in 1989 first to Tieton and subsequently to a location off Summitview Road, west of Yakima.

Among his more than 100 past and present clients are General Electric, Siemens, Gillette, Caterpillar and Kaiser Aluminum. Locally, he has consulted for Tree Top.

His trademarked software, The Finished Goods Series, allows manufacturers to take the guesswork out of forecasting demand for their products so they don’t overstock costly parts. It all translates into customer service and profits, he says.

Estep was destined for success after graduating from Naches Valley High School, where he was the valedictorian. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and graduated cum laude from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania in 1971.

His early career took him to some of the most pioneering technology companies of the time near Boston, including Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN Technologies), a legendary research and development firm that invented the ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, and email.

Estep honed his ability to write complicated computer code at major insurance companies in the early 1970s while completing graduate work in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

He struck out on his own around the same time the personal computer leapfrogged the old mainframes, which only the largest companies could afford.

“Suddenly, these enormous barriers disappeared and I bought my first PC for $5,000 and started writing code,” Estep recalls.

Six months later, he had his first customer in GE Locomotive and he still recalls the elation he felt with his first successful product.

“The first time I saw my software on their computer, it was an enormous high.”

Estep’s client list grew mostly by word of mouth, which is a good thing because “I am not a salesman,” he says.

While he is optimistic about the future competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, Estep decries what he calls “our math phobic” society. “Some people brag about not being good at math.”

But Estep is doing his part to solve the problem: He volunteers to teach APL to top Advanced Placement calculus students in Yakima-area high schools.

And if he has any time left in his typical 60- to 70-hour work week, Estep goes flying. He’s an instrument-rated pilot.

Owner: John Estep Product or service: Software, consulting, education and support Location: Summitview Road, west of Yakima Length of ownership: 27 years Number of employees: Estep and his wife Lee Ann, along with three independent contractors Average number of hours worked by owner each week: 60-70

Note: This story has been edited to correct erroneous information.