Bay Computer Associates, a Lesson in Collaboration

October 30, 2000

Local electronics design and software development business in its 10th year. Principals' mix of personalities has been good for business. By K. Alexa Mavromatis, Staff Writer, Providence Business News, Providence, RI

Bay Computer Associates does not have a president... officially.

In fact, when asked that question, owners Dave Durfee and Dave Frey look at each other for a second. Neither of their business cards says it. Instead, they read "Director, Systems Engineering" and "Director, Software Engineering."

"The way we decided who was going to be president is we flipped a coin," said Frey.

"Well, actually, Dave flipped a coin and went (Durfee mimed flipping a coin and not showing the results to Frey) and said 'Okay, you're president,'" said Durfee.

The reasoning, it seems, is two-fold: First, the rapport between the two is immediately apparent, each elaborating on the point of the other.

And second, when it comes to doing big jobs, "Do you want the president working on it? No! You want an engineer - not some business guy," said Durfee.

And that seems to work for BCA, a company that develops a variety of hardware and software components that are used in collaboration with other companies in the medical, educational and industrial fields.

"We talk to each other about every single decision," Frey said. "Every decision is based on doing the right thing."

The duo's roundabout answer is only indicative of what they believe has made this partnership endure for 10 years - Durfee and Frey are true collaborators, each playing a different role.

"I'm the heavy," Durfee said. "I'm the one who tells people to get back to work."

"And I'm the one who says 'If I'm bothering you, just let me know,'" said Frey.

The company's beginnings weren't nearly as humorous - especially not at first. When both were laid off from other jobs, Durfee and Frey decided to become electronic and software design consultants.

"We would either have to move or start our own company," Durfee said. "My Ph.D. (from Brown University) was supposed to finish in June, my wife told me she was pregnant, and we had already bought our Christmas presents."

"So I said 'Hey, we've been talking about starting a business,'" said Frey. From adversity, the two seem to have created a comfortable environment that retains employees.

"This is a great place to work," said Durfee.

"We've lost just one engineer in 10 years," said Frey.

"And that was just because he married a girl from Andover," said Durfee.

A tour of the Bay Computer Associates (BCA) office, in an old General Electric plant on the Providence/Cranston line, is a little like the opening sequence to Masterpiece Theatre (just substitute the leather-bound volumes and spectacles with computer handbooks and mother boards). Many of the items are prototypes from past projects.

"People don't realize there are computers in everything," said Durfee.

BCA has collaborated in the development of many medical devices including an ambulatory pump, dental probe, portable defibrillator and a "smart battery" to ensure proper battery maintenance in medical equipment.

Other projects include a motor cover that detects the temperature in motors used in mining, and shuts them down before they get too hot; emergency call phones for college campuses; and a computer program that controls the electronic beam that vaporizes the metal used in plate glass window production.

"It's a very scientific place," Durfee said. "There are jobs we just wouldn't be able to get without advanced degrees," said Durfee.

Durfee said he takes great pleasure at seeing his company's projects interact with the world - in hospitals, on college campuses. "I love to see it work," he said. "I had something to do with it - that's cool."

Durfee said that it is the variety of projects that makes working at BCA so stimulating for himself and his co-workers.

"That's why our business is interesting," he said. "It's all engineering all the time. That's why we have to find engineers who enjoy new stuff, different things happening."

Frey said the engineers on staff help shape the direction of the company as much as its two directors.

"The whole secret here was bringing the thinkers together," he said.

"They'll say 'I want to try a little Web work," Durfee said. "If it's electronic, if it's engineering, it works."

In addition to his duties at BCA, Durfee is an adjunct professor at both Brown University and the University of Rhode Island. He teaches a semester-long course in data communications at each school.

"I went to grad school thinking that I wanted to be a professor - then I found out what their job really is," Durfee said. "It keeps me sharp. Kids aren't dopes. You have to know what you're talking about."

Durfee said his students can benefit from the ways in which he applies his education to his job.

"I like teaching because Brown is an excellent school in a lot of ways, but nobody told me how to use the math I was learning," he said. "I can give them concrete examples of designs so that they can stay motivated."

Durfee and Frey have been conservative about expanding their company.

"The tendency is that when you're doing really well, to hire a lot of people and earn a lot of money, but then you have to lay people off," said Frey.

"And we've been laid off, and it's not fun," said Durfee.

"We've never laid anybody off," said Frey.

"Now we've got 15 families to feed, but the flip side of that is that if I want to take a vacation, there are 14 people to cover for me - it's going to be okay," said Durfee. "The one thing we have learned is we don't make any decisions based on money."

The past 10 years have not come without their share of challenges to the duo, among which have been:

"Marketing," said Frey.

"We've had to learn how to sell ourselves," Durfee said. "We have tendency not to say things that aren't true."

"Finding people," said Frey.

"Interviewing," Durfee said. "I think we've learned how to interview engineers and find out if they're going to fit in here. If they come through that door and ask 'Well, what kind of office do I get?' it won't work."

Frey is philosophical about the company's success.

"There's no relationship between talent and whether you're going to make it or not," he said. "There's no relationship between how good a product is and whether it makes it or not. There are other factors which need to be weighed in." Everybody here likes to learn new stuff. They enjoy high tech, and that's what we do."

What's next on the agenda for Bay Computer?

Frey thought for a minute.

"It's like we are driving down this highway," he said. "It's a pretty good highway. We like the view."

"So I don't think we need to take an exit right now," said Durfee.