top entrepreneurs under 40: Sunny Vanderbeck, 31, The

D Magazine, Jan 01, 2004 by McGahey, Marion, Slonecker, Troy

Sunny Vanderbeck, 31

DATA RETURN

Sunny Vanderbecks story reads like the rise of a phoenix: Data Return has been to hell and back, and, in a kind of fateful deja vu, is again positioned to be the market leader in its niche. Vanderbeck's peers call him a "brilliant thinker and true leader." Maybe his training as a U.S. Army Ranger gave him the steely determination to ride out a crushing economy.

Once employed at Microsoft, Vanderbeck identified a market need created by the behemoth corporation: helping customers who were doing business online using the Microsoft platform. The company has evolved to provide extranet services and keeps clients connected with customers and partners, regardless of their operating systems. He started Data Return in 1996 and took it public in 1999. He invested his new wealth Kick into the company, only to watch it tank when the Internet bubble burst. Instead of back backing off, Vanderbeck rolled up his sleeves and sold the dying beast to Divine, whose own bankruptcy two years later gave him a chance to reclaim Data Return (which is no longer publicly traded). As a testament to the loyalty he inspires, most of his original team is still with him. "You cannot go it alone when building a business," Vanderbeck says. "Find a mentor, and hire the best people you can find. Pay them well, and learn from them." Not surprisingly, Vanderbeck is now devoted to helping other aspiring entrepreneurs.