Forty under 40: Alan V. Pyrz and Ken Barlow

Principals and Co-Founders eGov Strategies LLC

Lee Iacocca and a love of government and politics helped Ken Barlow become the successful entrepreneur he is today.

And what about business partner Alan V. Pyrz? After seriously considering a career as a patent lawyer, Pyrz chose the risky but exciting route of developing a business with Barlow instead.

Neither man has any regrets, despite going through some rocky times.

While Pyrz was still in law school, the two men built eGov Solutions, which provides Web site administration to small and midsize governments. The two worked together in Mayor Steve Goldsmith's administration, launching indygov.org. Barlow and Pyrz never wavered from their original vision, even after eGov Solutions became NetGov, with Goldsmith at the lead. After the dot-com bust, the company dissolved.

The partners simply started up again as eGov Strategies and became their own bosses; they had only one client. Today they have more than 25 clients and predict steady growth.

As a little boy, Barlow didn't give owning his own business much thought. He liked computers and pursued a degree in computerscience engineering at the University of Illinois. For six years, he worked for New York-based IBM's networking and systems division in North Carolina, designing and developing networking software.

It was interesting, but not interesting enough. Barlow read about former Chyrsler Corp. Chairman Lee Iaccoca's suggestions on how to make it big in the business world. Foremost was pursuing something a person really loves.

Barlow went back to school, pursuing an MBA at Indiana University, keeping in mind his interest in government. He figured learning business concepts could help him learn how to make government more efficient and customer-friendly. He was a volunteer for Sen. Richard Lugar's bid for the presidency, which verified a career in public service was where he should be.

Then, he served in Mayor Steve Goldsmith's office and quickly learned about the mayor's commitment to using the Internet to make government more service-oriented and efficient. Pyrz later joined the office, too, and the two worked together well from the outset.

Pyrz said he was always a techie, and that prompted him to study engineering at Purdue University. His undergraduate degree is in civil engineering and his law degree is from IU in Bloomington.

The two men remain optimistic about their business. They pride themselves on understanding how governments work and providing the ongoing support necessary to train city employees and help them expand the Web sites.

The two get along well and play off each other's strengths. Barlow likes to create the vision; he's been the one to most frequently work directly with clients and spread the word at conferences about their achievements.

Pyrz is praised for being excellent to the business's six employees, nurturing their growth, encouraging creativity and making the company an enjoyable place to work.

He has concentrated on designing and developing the interactive solutions for eGov Strategies. He has led numerous business-process re-engineering efforts, focusing on using technology to be more efficient, both in time and money. Both have also found time to get involved in the community.

Pyrz and his wife are marriage sponsors to engaged couples at their church, St. Joan of Arc. He has also provided free computer assistance to not-for-profits and plans to get more involved in government efforts to improve technological efforts throughout Indiana.

Barlow is committed to helping others starting out in business. He's returned to address business students and alumni at IU about entrepreneurship and encourage them that they can excel at their dreams, just like Iacocca did for him.