The World According to Jon Hirschtick

What was your start in the CAD business?

I left Computervision in August ’83. You’re lucky I have a good memory for dates. It was a year later we raised venture capital. It was very hard to raise venture capital for SolidWorks. Nobody wanted to invest in it. People turned us down.

Why?

The feeling was the market was done, that everyone used AutoCAD. Autodesk had a monopoly. And down the street, there was PTC.

You know PTC is having their annual user meeting just a few blocks away?

Yeah.

What do you think of PTC?

I have a lot of respect for PTC. I have a lot of respect for all the CAD companies really. There’s a lot to admire. Mike Payne came to us [SolidWorks] from PTC.

But back then, they were about to give you any money?

Everyone turned us down. You have to remember at the time, AutoCAD was almost generic for CAD. AutoCAD was to CAD what Google is to search. It was more than what Apple and Android is to phones. That’s a biopoly. There were other CAD programs, but basically AutoCAD owned everything in a huge way.

You tried for venture capital, like Shark Tank?

We went to venture capital investors, but it wasn’t like Shark Tank. That was invented for entertainment. We were going into conference rooms, meeting with investors. It was painful. Again, AutoCAD had a freaking monopoly. Everyone had AutoCAD. Period. Then, PTC was coming over the top with 3D. PTC was a juggernaut on execution. You didn’t want to get in their way. Let’s see, who would be like that today? Salesforce?

PTC and AutoCAD had this monopoly on the 2D side, the low end, and PTC on the 3D side, at the high end. People didn’t realize there was anything besides PTC at the high end. PTC was executing relentlessly quarter after quarter—an incredible sales force. It felt like they were taking over the world. And here we come along with “Oh, our idea is to put 3D CAD on Windows.” They looked at me like I had two heads.

Sounds like you hit a wall.

It was a struggle. We could not get investors to invest. They thought it would be very difficult to build [3D parametric history-based CAD] and that there wasn’t room in the market. They felt like CAD was a solved problem. But I believed in it and kept working on it. I told our team we will get funding. I can’t tell how long it will take.

Where was the company located at this time?

In my house.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Chicago. I worked for a bit as a professional magician. I did balloon animals and magic tricks.

And card tricks?

That got me going with cards. But that was a part-time job.

This was during high school?

Yeah. I was a good student. I went on to MIT. I started programming computers in 1975 during high school.

[We are interrupted by our waiter, who reminds us to order, leading to a study and commentary of the vast and varied menu and some reminiscing about previous meals we shared together. Hirschtick remembers our giant fish (a branzino) served whole in an Israel-themed restaurant in LA along with pan-Asian restaurants—similar to this one—where he has eaten, what he likes and dislikes. He doesn’t care to share food.]

And creamed spinach?

Creamed spinach? More like spinached cream.

You’re from Chicago. You must have a favorite steakhouse.

In Chicago? When I was a kid, we didn’t go to steakhouses. But these days, my three favorites are Gibson’s, Gene & Georgetti, and the Chicago Chop House.

Remember you promised to show us the best Italian beef in Chicago?

I remember. Then we didn’t go. Next time we’re in Chicago. Engineering.com is in Toronto? Nice town. When’s the next basketball game?

[Hirschtick, a true sports fan, is referring to the NBA championship series between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors.]

It’s tonight, actually.

You’ve got to watch that. That’s a big deal. Speaking of championships…. Not to gloat but….

Here we go. Go ahead. Boston’s championships…

We could have another [championship] on Wednesday: hockey. Boston Bruins vs St. Louis Blues, game seven.

Big sports fan, Jon?

Yeah, I’m a sports fan. I most enjoy baseball. Then football, hockey and basketball when they’re in the playoffs. I probably average one game a year live in hockey and basketball. How about you—hockey?

That is the default for us [Canadians]. But the Raptors have got the whole city [of Toronto] excited for the first time [about basketball]. But Boston has been very fortunate with its sports teams. Is the Patriots’ football dynasty like Golden State’s basketball dynasty?

Our football dynasty is like the basketball dynasty if the Warriors win for another decade. Then you could say they are the same. How many championships do they have? Three?

It would be three in a row if they win this year.

How many total?

That would be five total.

They’ve won five? That’s pretty good. We’ve won six championships in football. I don’t know if you noticed. Let’s see, not one World Series but four.

Since ’02, we’ve had 19 championships. In the last 17 years, which covers 18 seasons, we’ve had 17, I think. That’s six Super Bowls, four World Series, a Stanley Cup and a basketball championship. That’s 12 championships in 17 years.

Now you’re just bragging.

And right now, we are one good hockey game away from holding three of them simultaneously.