In 1997, tech-savvy corporate veteran Tim Whitehorn saw the potential of the Web for business and was ready to implement his ideas into an enterprise.

Whitehorn, president and CEO of Memphis-based ServiceU Corp., knew all about business processes, thanks to his years in software development for FedEx Corp. and ATS, a telecommunications company. And he knew that Web-based technology could streamline many of those processes. With his own net worth on the line, he zeroed in on event scheduling, a time-intensive, often frustrating process for any organization.

Whitehorn’s vision: a turnkey event-scheduling system for organizations staffed by people with limited experience in technology. He developed prototype software and then put it to an acid test. He used the software to schedule a large event for a local church.

“Think about it,” Whitehorn says. “When a church schedules a big event, someone must check the ministers’ schedules, reserve a room, and often arrange for equipment, food, child care. The pastor may need to approve the event. It probably involves other staff members and their schedules. It may conflict with other events. Once it clears these hurdles, it needs to go on the calendar and the church needs to get the word out. Sometimes, people even need to register for the event. Coordinating something like that can take hours.

“We deliberately developed this product for customers that we knew fell below the radar screen (of most software companies),” he says. “As a result, we tapped into enormous product development feedback, which allowed us to improve our product sometimes the same day. It gave us a real test for robustness.”

ServiceU developed its software to integrate with an organization’s Web site, creating a product flexible enough to be tailored to the changing needs of its users.

Reaction to this scheduling and resource management software, named EventU, has been immediate and positive. His current subscribers include local churches as well as several large, nationally-prominent organizations across the country. ServiceU’s software will also handle registration for an upcoming two-week event in Phoenix expected to attract over 7,000 participants.

Event coordinators find EventU intuitive and easy to use, Whitehorn says. The system requires only basic typing skills for a coordinator to name the day and time for an event, describe it, and identify and request resources. The software then steps the coordinator through a series of screens specific to the resources of the organization. Once the resources needed for the event are identified, the coordinator reviews the entire request, edits it, then submits it for staff approvals. EventU also automates the negotiation of solutions to conflicts that often surface during the approval process.

With final approval for the event, its coordinator then posts it on the organization’s Web site, indicating whether staff, a specific group, or all visitors to the site can see the posting. If the event requires reservations, attendees can register online and EventU automatically notifies the event coordinator.

ServiceU recently launched a second product, software that allows an organization to accept and process payments by credit card or check online. A natural follow-up to its event scheduling system, TransactU automates the collection of registration fees, activity fees, merchandise sales, and even donations. TransactU gives an organization a gateway for processing payments, providing access to a merchant account for credit card transactions. It also allows an organization to accept checks online, which saves the organization credit card processing fees that can range from 2% to 4.5% of the payment amount.

It’s the transaction processing capability that differentiates ServiceU from its competitors.

“There are other scheduling and resource management systems out there, but they don’t include transaction processing,” Whitehorn says. “That’s what makes us unique. We’re the recognized leader in this market.”

Whitehorn’s challenge now is to grow ServiceU’s customer base. His goal: 2,000 customers by this time next year, each paying a monthly fee to link ServiceU’s software to its Web site. He estimates that 350,000 churches nationwide are prospects for his company’s products, but he’s also targeting 125,000 schools (elementary through college) as well as other organizations that regularly enroll or register people and schedule events. Apartment complexes with Web sites are another promising target, because ServiceU can automate the monthly rent collection process.

Whitehorn has identified a cost-effective way to tap into these markets.

“We’re looking for strategic alliances with software companies that don’t have an Internet strategy, but who already sell to these customers,” he says. “We’re also developing partnerships with associations that are searching for solutions for problems common to their members.”

He acknowledges that it can sometimes take a while to close a sale in his business. Until recently, many of the organizations in his target markets had limited access to technology. Still, “the market has matured, equipment-wise, and people are increasingly comfortable with the Internet,” he says, making organizations more receptive to Web-based solutions that streamline business processes. ServiceU’s software increases staff efficiency by decreasing the time needed to schedule events, register participants, and manage associated transactions.

To support its expansion plans, ServiceU turned to local sources of funding. Delta Capital Management, a Memphis venture capital firm, joined with several individual investors to provide $3.15 million in equity financing in October 2000. Don Mundie, managing partner, says ServiceU was attractive even then, a time when tech stocks were being battered and many dot coms were failing.

“ServiceU is a software company that happens to use the Internet,” Mundie says. “It’s not into e-commerce or advertising, a business model that the market has rejected. It’s an application service provider, not a dot com or a company selling software in a box. Instead, it provides an organization with a Web-based software platform that can be customized to its particular needs. In return, ServiceU gets a continuous revenue stream (because) it’s not a one-time sale.”

Investing in a developing software company is not without its risks, Mundie cautions, but he thinks ServiceU has long-term staying power.

“There aren’t a lot of barriers to entry in this field, so there’s always the risk of technological obsolescence,” he says. “But we have confidence in the team at ServiceU. We’re confident that they will continue to develop new products, confident that they’ll continue to innovate in order to expand their revenue stream.”