He and some of his friends began building the backbone for what would become "The Unfinished Swan, " an upcoming game that is based on an "Alice in Wonderland"-styled motif, but features a swan that has escaped from an unfinished painting.

CNN: Indie video games get help from a 'big brother'

But, also like many social entrepreneurs, we struggled to answer when would be the right time to start building that tech backbone.

FORBES: As a Startup Social Enterprise, When is the Right Time to Invest in Technology?

Empowering innovation requires a rethink of strategy and using technology as the backbone to building a future enterprise.

FORBES: Innovation Lessons From Star Trek

Anyone can issue instructions to the basic building blocks of the Internet, the backbone routers, that, if accepted, will seriously disrupt the function of the Internet.

FORBES: Is China Testing Cybernukes?

The Internet's earliest development stretched back to 1969, but Smarr helped speed its development by building the National Science Foundation's fiber backbone.

FORBES: Totally Wired U.

After building its business on making switching equipment that forms the backbone of phone and computer networks, Huawei is trying to become a business and consumer brand.

MSN: Chinese tech giant calls for cyber cooperation