Journey ends in Los Gatos, which is where it started

By Don Callahan

'The Garage" of Los Gatos--Take a husband with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Michigan, a computer engineering degree from Michigan State University and an MS degree in computer engineering from the University of Southern California. His wife has the same last two degrees from the same two universities. Combine that with 10 years of working together for the same various electronic companies in the United States and Germany and a move that settled them in a nice home on a quiet street in Los Gatos with a detached garage in the early '90s. You have Charles White and Julia Miller, who, in 1992, started a software company in "The Garage" of Los Gatos.

They called the company Black & White Software. Two months later they moved their business to Bascom Avenue south of the Pruneyard. Two years later they moved into the Pruneyard Towers. They sold Black & White to Segue Software in December of 1998, with Charles staying on as an employee. Segue Software is the market leader in tools for testing performance, accuracy and reliability of websites for customers such as eBay, Amazon.com and eTrade.

Segue Software, whose headquarters are in Lexington, Mass., has had two offices in Silicon Valley for the past several years. During the week of February 20, the two offices merged into a new location at 90 Albright Way, combining about 45 people into the new office. Back home to Los Gatos where Black & White Software had its start.

Been there, done that--Attorney Leroy Neider has moved back to his old haunts at 16285 Los Gatos Blvd. from next door at 16275. He has been practicing law in Los Gatos since 1972, specializing in estate planning, probate, business transactions and investment law. Neider graduated from the University of Idaho with a bachelor's degree with a double major in accounting and English. While at the university, Neider took and passed all four parts of the nationwide Certified Public Accountants examination. He then went to work for the national CPA firm of Touche Ross and Company, received his CPA license and then moved to California to attend Stanford Law School. After graduation he took the California State Bar exam and, while awaiting the results of the exam and the bar swearing-in ceremony, Neider taught accounting and business law at Bryant Stratton College in San Jose.

What's in a name--Freedom Chiropractic "... to us, chiropractic care is about freeing the body's innate healing power and connecting individuals to that power for optimum health expression," according to husband-and-wife team Jeff Cobbs, D.C., and Pam Daley, D.C. The doctors have moved their practice from 291 E. Main St. to 15466 Los Gatos Blvd. Their new offices are above the Café Trio restaurant. A grand opening for their new offices will be held on March 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activities include free new-patient exams, entertainment by Vicky Parrish and Michael Robinson of the Standing Stones, a traditional Irish and Scottish music duo, and door prizes donated by local businesses with raffles every half hour.

New fine art gallery--The Los Gatos Gallery of Photography is a new fine-art photography gallery, owned and operated by John Akhtar and Heather Barry at 214 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Akhtar and Barry are also the owners of Vivid Images Photography Inc. in Santa Clara. The Los Gatos gallery is displaying "Dream Places," a collection of color photomontages by Akhtar. The montages have no computer manipulation. Photomontage is created by superimposing two or more images into a final image. It is just one style of Akhtar's many photographic styles. Akhtar received his higher education as a physicist in London, but chose, rather, to use his hobby of photography as his life's work.

Vivid Images Photography Inc. is the business name for Akhtar's photography. He takes high-end photographs for his clients.

Barry takes care of the marketing end of the business, as well as doing sculpture. Some of her pieces will be on display in their Los Gatos gallery. According to Barry, "We opened the gallery in Los Gatos because this community is more contemporary, more European, which is where John spent his early years. On the evening of March 23, the new gallery, with the cooperation of the Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, will celebrate its grand opening. Everyone is invited.

Need a nanny?--"Stanford Park Nannies," according to owner-operators Daryl Camarillo and Maggie Berkshire, "is a professional search firm specializing only in the referral of qualified in-home child-care providers." With more than 15 years of combined nanny- referral experience, they serve Santa Clara and San Mateo counties from their offices in Los Gatos, 236 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Suite 102, and in Menlo Park. After being in the nanny business in Pasadena for about six years, Camarillo decided to move to Northern California, where she opened Stanford Park Nannies in San Mateo and, recently, a second office in Los Gatos.

She has three children and has had the same nanny for 10 years. Berkshire, who worked as a nanny while putting herself through Chico State University, joined Camarillo's nanny business in Pasadena as an employee and then moved north as an owner with Camarillo when they opened Stanford Park Nannies.

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Got a business news tip for Don Callahan? Fax him at 408.354.2741 or email him at decallahan@home.com.

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