Steve is a technologist and entrepreneur, with a passion for supporting independent musicians. He is a nine-year veteran of Microsoft, shipping over 50 products as both software developer and senior product manager. Steve provided pivotal leadership in transforming Microsoft's Visual C++ development suite into a highly-profitable, industry-leading product. As Group Program Manager of the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN), he spearheaded successful initiatives to evangelize key technologies including ActiveX, DirectX, and Internet Explorer. Steve was active in the Seattle-area scene of the late 80's and early 90's. He operated three independent record labels, handling A&R, production, packaging, marketing, distribution, and tour support for his bands. As a distributor of indie music in the early 90's, Steve authored a do-it-yourself guide to help artists to release their own records, which formed the basis of the now-legendary Mechanics Guide To Putting Out Records. In 1999, he founded a multi-year research project with the goal of using technology to help music fans quickly find great music, from the universe of music available, based on their personal tastes. This research formed the basis of Soundflavor's current products.