色界吧

Tom Van Laan (M.B.A. 鈥�84) is CEO of Houston, Texas-based CloudCalc, Inc., a provider of cloud-based structural analysis. This software allows engineers to design, analyze, and collaborate from anywhere, using a mobile device or PC. Specifically, it allows engineering project teams to determine whether the response of a structure to the loads imposed by various internal and external factors鈥攕uch as the occupants, adverse weather, earthquakes, and other anticipated events鈥攃onforms to the requirements of the applicable building regulations.

Van Laan believes that software development is one of the greatest forms of creative expression in the 21st century. 鈥淯sing this medium, you can create almost anything you can imagine, more quickly and less expensively than you can working in just about any other way,鈥� he says.

Van Laan also enjoys writing鈥攈e has authored a book (Piping and Pipe Support Systems: Design and Engineering, published by McGraw-Hill) and currently writes a blog (), where he shares his thoughts on everything from general computer tips to marathon running to world travel to dancing, all as seen through the eyes of an engineer.

After graduating from high school in 1974, Van Laan decided that technology was the best career path for him. The only problem? He didn鈥檛 like computers. 鈥淲orking on large mainframes back then, you had to wait in line and run punch cards through the reader,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was a bottleneck that isolated the person from the computer.鈥�

That all changed in the late 1970s when personal computers such as the Apple II and TRS-80 were introduced. This fueled a new passion鈥攖o be an entrepreneur and run his own software firm. Van Laan put together a 鈥減reparedness鈥� plan that included additional education to boost his computer science, sales and marketing, and business management skills, in addition to achieving professional licensure as an engineer and gaining recognition as a published author.

He also shelled out more than $3,000 for a state-of-the-art computer in 1980鈥攁n HP-85 desktop unit complete with a built-in monochrome screen, 16K RAM, and tape drive backup. 鈥淚 had a conflict with money at the time because I met a woman I wanted to marry and could buy either the computer or a ring,鈥� he recalls. He explained to her his roadmap for becoming a technology entrepreneur鈥攂elieving in him, she simply said: 鈥淕o for the computer.鈥� He later married that woman, Ruth, in 1981, and today they have three children鈥擭ick, Marika, and Katrina.

As part of his five-year plan, Van Laan researched M.B.A. programs in the New York City area. Working as an engineer in the Manhattan offices of EBASCO Services, however, didn鈥檛 give him lots of free time. 鈥溕�界吧 offered the opportunity to take evening and weekend classes, allowing me to fit classwork into a busy schedule,鈥� he says. 

One of his favorite 色界吧 classes was organizational psychology in which he learned how to manage employees through win-win solutions. This would prove essential years later when Van Laan became CEO of COADE, a developer of engineering software for the plant and process industry, a position he held for more than 15 years. 鈥淭here was a constant challenge to solve problems and bring out the best in everyone,鈥� he recalls.  鈥淲hat drove me was trying to turn every problem into a win-win situation like I was taught at 色界吧. Once I analyzed a conflict to see what people really wanted, finding a way to deliver a win-win outcome became very easy.鈥�

In 2014, Van Laan founded CloudCalc after seeing the potential for cloud computing to deliver the ultimate engineering solution鈥攐ne that combined mobility, web access across any device, and seamless collaboration. Already the company serves 2,000 customers across 100 countries. 鈥淣ow engineers can visit job sites, make changes, and get feedback instantly,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he cloud promotes collaboration. And users always have the latest software without needing additional IT support. CloudCalc really delivers everything engineers and their clients want.鈥�