Contango, Inc. Starts Up As First Interactive Screen Toys Company

Business Wire, Sept 11, 1995

BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 11, 1995--Contango, Inc., the first Interactive Screen Toys company, has been formed and will immediately begin shipping its first product family to computer retailers and specialty stores September 11, 1995.

ScreenToyz, previously announced by Creative Insights, Inc. (CI), of Cupertino, is now Contango's property. The Creative Insights name is also now Contango's and the new products will be marketed -- by Contango -- under the Creative Insights logo. Creative Insights has ceased to exist.

Explains Jeffrey L. Garon, CEO and one of Contango's founders, "In acquiring the ScreenToyz technology, we were aware that there was equity in the Creative Insights name, so we purchased the rights to the name as well."

Contango's three founders, Garon, Andy Riedel, vice president product development, and Fred Butts, vice president marketing, were all senior team members of Creative Insights, Inc.

Garon, president and chief executive officer, was formerly CFO and manufacturing and operations director at Creative Insights, Inc. He is founding principal of The Garon Financial Group, and has 12 years experience in senior positions at companies including Monster Cable Products, Oracle and Ashton-Tate.

Riedel, a Stanford graduate, was inspired by Wile E. Coyote -- a childhood favorite -- to invent ScreenToyz, an innovative hardware/software combination that plugs into a computer to provide entirely new forms of interactive entertainment.

Butts has credentials as an artist, an entrepreneurial marketer and a computer products designer. He led Creative Insight's design team for ScreenToyz and was an artistic force for Broderbund Software's Treehouse. Earlier in his career, he started his own successful skateboard manufacturing and retail business which he successfully sold.

Creative Insights was a company that had ambitious plans for multiple product lines. When it ceased to exist, the three Contango founders -- along with other former CI employees -- decided to stick with a narrower and more focused strategy.

"We believe that Interactive Screen Toys will emerge as an entirely new product category. They are more entertaining than screen savers and PC users can do lots with them, rather than just watch toasters fly by or dogs doing naughty things," stated Garon.

"I don't want to overwork the old Phoenix-from-the-ashes metaphor, but the end of one company often creates the opportunity for a new enterprise and that's why we formed Contango," stated Garon. "Our single product category focus allows us to get ScreenToyz onto the shelves fast enough to be a hit for the holiday season."

ScreenToyz are immediately available (see related release) at a variety of computer stores. They are sold through a national network of sales representatives.

Privately held, Contango, Inc. is the first Interactive Screen Toys company. With nine employees, the Burlingame, CA-based company designs, manufactures and markets interactive ScreenToyz. -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: ScreenToyz and Creative Insights are all trademarks of Contango. All other trademarks used herein are recognized as such.

CONTACT: Contango, Inc.

Fred Butts, 415/548-0283

-or-

Ketchum Technology Worldwide

Alissa Bushnell, 415/984-2207

alissa_bushnell@ketprsf.com