Kingdom gives up it share of Xtreme Notebooks firm

Kingdom Ventures no longer owns part of Xtreme Notebooks. The company, which acquired 67 percent interest in April of 2002, bowed out Feb. 1.

"I wish Kingdom Ventures the best," said Steve Nichols, founder of Xtreme Notebooks. "I hope they do well."

Nichols, who started the company in his garage about four years ago, said the 18-month-old partnership was not what he wanted it to be. His new partner, Mark Marsella, agreed.

"We felt encumbered by the weight of corporate control," Marsella said.

The company occupies a unique niche, doing the research and then putting together custom-built computers to meet its clients' needs.

Several suppliers, including Motion Computing in Austin, Texas, provide the components. In addition to working with individual customers, the company sells computers, accessories and more on its Web site.

Nichols said Gene Jackson, president of Kingdom Ventures, came to him with the partnership proposal. At that time, Nichols owned the company with co-founder Jeff Dudley.

"We were new businessmen, and we were doing well," Nichols said. "Kingdom is a big corporation, and we thought they would bring new business to our company because of their Christian community contacts.

"They purchased part of the business with money and stock," he said. "It all sounded pretty good to us."

Nichols said Kingdom could have bankrupted the company, but chose instead to relinquish it to its original owners. Jeff Dudley left the company and Nichols has taken on two new partners, once his employees.

Marsella is operations manager and technical director. He's got the expertise to handle technical support and manages the Web site. Dave Antonucci, who's in charge of sales and marketing, has taken the added responsibility of handling the books.

"I don't know much, but I do know how to find the right people," Nichols said. "About seven or eight months ago, I knew these two would be my partners. We're a team. I couldn't do it without them."

Nichols said the company, which is financially solid, earned $2.6 million in sales last year. This year, he expects to gross $3 million.

Contact Susie Vasquez at svasquez@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.