Wayne Berry is a confident entrepreneur

By Andrew Carson

Bellingham native Wayne Berry has always been an entrepreneur. He started his first business in his early teens and bought his first computer with the money he earned picking strawberries for nearby farmers.

That first computer hooked Berry and he has been programming ever sense. "I have always been interested in business and computers," Berry said.

The 27-year-old Berry hasn't looked back and is well on his way to having a successful career in today's fast growing Internet industry.

Berry's latest project is Kulshan.com, a community website for his hometown, Bellingham, Washington.

Kulshan gives extensive information about Bellingham and Whatcom County. Information and links to movies, local music, upcoming community events and news of local interest can all be found at Kulshan. "It is a site for the people that live here not for tourists," said Berry.

Kulshan was created using the Community Server software developed by Berry. "The idea," Berry said, " is to sell this software to chambers of commerce so that communities will be able to develop their own professional web-sites." Berry graduated from Bellingham High School in 1990. Berry then went on to Western Washington University receiving his BS in computer science in 1994.

Western computer science professor Dr. Martin Osborne remembers Berry as an inquiring and self-motivated student " he would go beyond what was expected," Osborne said.

Berry's inquiring mind has led him to the deeper questions that his work involves. "My philosophy on life is that there are just certain limits to what humans can deal with when it comes to numbers," Berry said.

Websites with relatively small numbers of pages can be maintained by hand. "Up to 200 or 300 pages people can keep organized in their head. But above that you need a database of pages and navigation becomes much more difficult," Berry said.

The question, Berry said, becomes "What do you do when a site has like 200,000 to 300,000 pages"? He is fascinated by the way people comprehend large numbers. "The Chinese symbol for 100,000 is the same as the symbol for infinity. Above a certain point numbers are just big they do not have any really meaning to people," Berry said.

Berry and his new wife Dina recently moved back to Bellingham from Redmond, WA, where they both worked for Microsoft. Berry spent two years at Microsoft as a system design engineer.

"Working for Microsoft is OK. There are lots of very smart people. The problem is that you have very little decision about the direction of your project. Your role is what they give you," Berry said.

Berry also had problems with the location. "Working in Redmond sucks. The traffic is bad and housing is expensive," He said.

Berry started 15seconds.com his first independent commercial project while he was working for Microsoft. The website began as a hobby to assist in distributing information to Active Server Page (ASP) developers.

15Seconds grew into one of the most popular ASP reference sites for programmers and website administrators. Berry recently sold the site and it's now part of Internet.com's development section. Berry is still editor of 15Seconds witch is published online twice a month.

A popular speaker, Berry has been invited to speak to international ASP Developers conferences, here and abroad. "I think he is a very good speaker, certainly very knowledgeable and entertaining," Osborn said.

Berry has spoken to Osborne's computer science classes on several occasions. Osborne said that Berry sets a good example and that Berry's success should motivate all students, not just those interested in computer science. "He is an inspiration to other students. Except that some times I think they might be fooling themselves because he makes it look so easy," Osborne said.

Berry recently spoke to the Professional ASP Developers conference in Denver and at an international ASP conference in Sweden. He is also scheduled to speak at the Internet World, Summer 99 Conference in Chicago.

Berry is also the co-author of three books, ActiveX Unleashed Programming, Windows Registry Guide, and Special Edition - Using Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0. All three books are aimed at industry insiders.

Berry is proud of his accomplishments and confident in his own abilities. "I don't want to sound like I'm bragging but I would have to say that I am one of the top 10 or so ASP developers in the world," Berry said.

If his speaking engagements and the success of 15seconds are any indication Berry's self evaluation is not far of.

"I imagine that he is one of the foremost in his field. "Look at 15seconds. He runs that and it's a place that professional ASP people go to for help." Osborne said.

When Berry is not in front of a computer, he enjoys remodeling his home with his wife and indulging his passion for fine wine and Volkswagens.

Editor's Note: This story is published as submitted, unedited.