LAS VEGAS — Hiring the right people is just one of the lessonssome executives said they have learned from after launching theirrespective CUSOs.

Speaking at an interactive session on the topic during NACUSO'sannual conference this week was Mike Atkins, CEO of OpenTechnology Solutions in Colorado, Kirk Drake, CEO of OngoingOperations LLC in Maryland, and Paroon Chadha, vice president andco-founder of Passageways LLC in Indiana. Each shared some of thelessons they learned in building their CUSOs.

When asked what was the most challenging business issue tostarting and running a CUSO and how that issue was addressed, bothChadha and Drake agree that bringing on bpard the right people wascritical. Atkins said the biggest challenge is getting the dealdone. Meaning, convincing chief information officers that thesolution being offered will make their lives better.

With any new business, there are unexpected surprises along theway, the panel session's moderator pointed out. Each of the CUSOleaders were asked to recall some of them. Drake said the pace ofchange was unexpected going from two to 30 employees. Atkins saidthe evolution of OTS' business model was a surprise for theCUSO.

"Once partners said go build this, it became an asset to creditunion partners," Atkins said.

Chadha said the journey has been a roller coaster ride. In itsfirst year, Passageways had $100,000 in capital, signed on 10customers and brought in $300,000 in revenue.

"You would think we were doing a happy dance but we were not,"Chadha said. "That's because we didn't know what to expect next.It's a constant cycle of ups and downs."