As part of our series, “5 Things You Need to Know to Create a Successful SaaS or Software Business,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Ray Parsons.
As President and CEO and a member of its Board of Directors, Ray Parsons is responsible for the overall success of Transcepta, the leading provider of intelligent e-procurement and accounts payable (AP) automation solutions. He has led technology organizations for over 20 years, including successfully building and selling a software company (Unisolve) to Microsoft. After selling Unisolve in 2001, Ray became the General Manager for Microsoft’s worldwide supply chain management initiative. Ray also served as the General Manager for the Microsoft Business Network, a research effort targeted at identifying ways that companies could simplify their electronic document exchange.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us about your backstory and how you got started?
I started as a software developer out of school. I had the good fortune to go to work for a well-run, regional ERP software development shop where I learned a lot of practical experiences about how businesses work. Eventually, I worked myself into a position where I was offered a chance to buy a portion of the company, which was called Unisolve. I borrowed everything I could borrow and made the purchase. Over time, I bought a bit more of the company. After 20 years of hard effort, we were thrilled when Microsoft acquired our company.