TAKEAWAY: Anyone who has ever been to a BPM conference knows Alan Trefler and his story. But if you haven't, check this out: "In 1975, at age 19, former New England junior chess champion and then Dartmouth College student Alan Trefler decided to enter the World Open chess tournament in New York and play for all the marbles against the best players of any age."  He won everything but eventually, (as he told Elizabeth Kratz, editor of ebizQ), he abandoned chess because it wasn't a good hobby in which to meet girls....

Trefler  traded his chessboard for a briefcase and business attire. Since 1983, he has been running Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA), the Cambridge, MA, software company he founded when he was 27. Though it has experienced its ups and downs (one way down) over the years Pega - which just celebrated its 25th birthday in April - now stands as one of the quiet success stories of New England high-tech business. The firm is enjoying rapid growth and strong profits and eyeing $200 million in revenues this year.

Source: Xconomy

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