Founded in 1998, eInvasion, Inc. is a privately held S-corporation based in Streetsboro, Ohio. eInvasion develops, maintains, supports, and provides leading-edge software products, web development, translation, and consulting services for consumers and businesses throughout the United States and the world.

Product development (shrink-wrap and vertical applications); wireless and scanning applications; database expertise; interface design, web and e-commerce development; Microsoft, Adobe, and Palm Technologies. VB, VB.NET, C#, ADO, ADO.NET, SQL Server, T-SQL, ASP.NET, Adobe Flex.

If you want to know about how eInvasion started, keep reading.



I had an interesting childhood…

I believe my Dad started programming around 1958 while he was in the Air Force. There were not too many programmers back then because the room sized computers cost millions. After the Air Force, my Dad worked as a Systems Analyst for Rockwell (for a long time) and then McDonnell Douglas. I remember as a child that he used to bring home punch cards for me to play with.

When my brother and I were teens, Dad bought us a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Extended Basic. That started it all for me. I remember finding a 3D rotational code example in a magazine. It took hours to type it all in and all it did was create a rotating stick figure. But that was enough to plant a seed in me to become a bytologist. I remember my brother and I were enamored with a video game called Defender, and we coded that game too (until we ran out of memory.) Later, I owned a Vic 20 and a Commodore 128. I longed to buy an Amiga, but never had the money.

In high school, I took BASIC classes from a teacher who last name was Nutter. (He was a nut!) I remember all the geeks in class, and the guy I partnered with was one of those brainiacs who did all the work and wouldn't let me code. (Hmmm...) We actually got an A when he coded a space shuttle launch with a giant pacman eating the shuttle. I got no experience in that class, but it helped fuel the desire to program. (We used Apple IIc's in that class.)

Later, Dad bought an IBM PC for the family. I forget the model (50?) It had a floppy and hard drive. After high school, I was not actively programming because I was more interested in drumming and music (see below.) However, around 1989, my wife and I decided to start an embroidery company which involved a 286-10 MHz computer, and I ended up learning some more programming and computer hardware skills. I think Windows 3.1 came out around that time, and I got hired by a major embroidery company to start selling the machines (we gave up the embroidery business.) But the call to programming was getting louder and my desire to bilk older ladies out of their hard-earned retirement was waning. I finally decided to go for it. I called Microsoft sales around 1990 and spoke to a nice girl who was very helpful. I told her that I had BASIC in high school, but wanted to program for Windows. I shared that I had zero C experience but knew enough to know that was the thing then. She then told me of this hot new program coming out called Visual Basic. She was instrumental and supportive, because had I left that call discouraged or unaware of VB, I don't know what would have happened. Once I got my hands on the first release, I treated the manuals like gospel and memorized every page and every API hack I could get my hands on. I even bought VB for DOS and enjoyed that for the few months it was on the market.

Since my mind had wandered from selling expensive embroidery machines to programming, I was forced out of that industry on my tail and eventually found my way into consulting. Not an easy road for a wannabe programmer with no degree. However, a dear person took a chance on me and gave me that shot I needed. Once actively programming for a variety of clients, I got around seasoned developers and absorbed at a rapid rate. The experience and contacts were priceless--many of them are still with me to this day. In 1998, while at a project for Key Bank, my buddy (who was independent) kept ribbing me about all the money I was losing as a hired gun. After a few months of the abuse, his words of wisdom prevailed and I decided it was time to launch my own consulting company. eInvasion was born…

During the course of consulting, I did manage to get a few certifications to offset my lack of degrees. Around 1998, I was awarded the coveted MCSD:



I have since let that expire, but if I ever get some time, I may go back and add some more. I was certified in Windows 3.1, WOSA I, WOSA II, SQL Server 6.5, VB 5, VB 6 Desktop, and VB 6 Distributed. Ahh, the good ole days.

After .NET came out, I was not overly impressed with VB.NET. I found it a completely different language and in some ways, foreign. Since I was going to be forced into .NET eventually anyway, I decided to make the leap to C#. Though I owe my career to VB, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning C# from the ground up. It is a great language! I am also learning Adobe Flex for a specific project, and knowing C# has helped with that as well. The thing I love about programming is that it is as much art as it is science, and it is a job you can have "passion" doing. I can't think of a better job than this. It amazes me that fewer and fewer people actually pursue it given the personal and financial rewards.

Since my story is still being written, this is all I will say for right now. If you made it this far, then please link with me at Linked In here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/moflaherty. I would love to hear from you!

Take care!

Michael O'Flaherty
5/11/2008

PS: Some people have written some comments about me at Linked In. I have included those here:

“Michael approaches each project with a positive, upbeat attitude. He enjoys challenging, creative projects and is an important asset in developing and launching new products. We have worked with Michael for over 6 years and we unconditionally recommend him.”

Mike is one of those rare software engineers who possess both great technical knowledge and tremendous business awareness. He has extremely varied technical interests, and he manages to pursue most everything he sets his sights on. Likewise, he has a wonderful talent for absorbing many of the key strategic and operational aspects of the organizations he has worked within. I relied heavily on Mike's broad background in several industries. He continuously shed light on aspects of both the contract security and correctional security markets. Further, he was often able to draw a parallel between a problem we faced and something he had dealt with in the past. Mike would definitely be a valued asset to any organization. If the opportunity ever arises, I wouldn't hesitate to team up with him again.”

“Michael was responsible for many innovative product concepts and for their integration into the software. This involved writing detailed functional and design documents all the way through to final implementation and debugging of the released products. Michael is easy to work with and is able to solve design issues efficiently and effectively.”

“All of the attributes listed above describe Mike: Great Results, Personable, Expert, Good Value, On Time, High Integrity, Creative. What more can I say.”

“Michael is a no nonsense project contributor attuned to seeing and solving easily overlooked details in complex projects. He is a valuable addition to any team and a down right good guy.”