In 1993, he founded Invincible Technology Corp. (the name was picked to mock a guy named Vince, who Duplessie felt screwed him on a previous deal), which developed high-capacity, fault-tolerant network storage systems. He sold Invincible to Procom Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: PRCM) in 1998, with unhappy results. "They instantly pissed everyone off, so everyone left within months," he says. In November 1999, Duplessie started up a consulting firm to cater to the storage industry.
At just the right time, it turned out. The storage market started to boom, and VC money was pumping into dozens of startups each one of them eagerly seeking Duplessie's guidance and validation. He's only too happy to demolish passionately held assumptions in the process. "Believing your own bullshit tends to get people into trouble," he observes.
Now, Duplessie says, there is definitely a "storage bubble" that is heading for a shakeout. "Unfortunately for ESG, we think that, of the 225 storage companies we track today, that number will be 125 in a year. It's Darwinism, which is OK by me, as long as it doesn't go so far that little guys don't try to play they are the real innovators."
Of course, Duplessie has his detractors. A rival analyst accuses him of being skilled mainly at self-promotion, and that he essentially sells his quotes to the highest bidder. "I call him The Squid, because no other creature on Earth pisses as much ink," the analyst grouses.
Bah! That's just sour grapes. Duplessie is on our list because every single storage company out there cares what he thinks and he'll stay on it for as long as that's true.
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