"There was not much competition when we started, but that's changed now, " said Ms. Robinson, adding that the company now has to compete against high-tech companies like Google Inc. talent.
Harte-Hanks has some competitors in the high-tech field, including Japan's Softbank Holdings Inc. and Boston-based SalesLink Corp.
That allows the company to act like a filter for high-tech clients like Motorola, Inc.
High-tech companies like Sun Microsystems Inc. and 3Com Corp. are also constantly running marketing campaigns aimed at their thousands of corporate customers and independent distributors.
The recipient of all the attention, Mr. Chandna, says he "can't keep up with my email anymore, " particularly after one of his investments, security-tech company Palo Alto Networks Inc.
WSJ: Revenge of the Nerds, the Sequel: Silicon Valley Wallflowers Now Hot
"It's a rough market to compete, " said Michael Gartenberg, a tech-industry analyst with research firm Gartner Inc.
"Over time, an optical disc will be as much of an historical curiosity as a floppy disk, " said Michael Gartenberg, a tech-industry analyst with research firm Gartner Inc.
Jed York, the 49ers CEO, has hired several executives from Silicon Valley tech companies for key front-office positions, including former Facebook Inc. executive Gideon Yu, who is now the team's president and a part owner.
Another tech offering, from medical-office-software company Greenway Medical Technologies Inc.
And a flurry of tech-focused startups now offers self-publishing services, including Smashwords, FastPencil Inc. and Lulu Enterprises Inc.
WSJ: Digital Self-Publishing Shakes Up Traditional Book Industry
He went on to found several tech companies and to launch groundbreaking products, including the voice-recognition system Interpath Inc. in 1981, McAfee in 1988, and the instant messaging pioneer Tribal Voice in 1996.
After years of selling rugs, today he spends most of his time investing in tech companies, and has stakes in more than 50 start-ups, including Dropbox Inc. and Path Inc.
Called array-based memory, the tech has been under development at a company called Nanochip, Inc. for nearly 12 years, and it looks like the first working samples will go out next year.
ENGADGET: Array-based flash memory could enable 1TB memory chips
Nissan North America Inc. will deliver its first all-electric Leaf today to a young tech executive who happened to be the first U.S. resident to reserve one of the new plug-in hatchbacks.
FORBES: Welcome to the Future: First Nissan Leaf Delivered Today
While big tech companies like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. typically grab the headlines in patent-infringement cases, Ms. Endress's situation illustrates a less visible trend: Intellectual-property claims against tech startups are rising.
But this month, the 40-year-old was a featured speaker at a popular tech conference in San Francisco along with the founders of Twitter Inc. and new Yahoo Inc.
WSJ: Revenge of the Nerds, the Sequel: Silicon Valley Wallflowers Now Hot
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