Mike Doernberg on Tweener Talks: The Early Chapters of a Multi-Exit Triangle Founder

In Part 1 of this two-part deep dive, Triangle Tweener Talks host Scot Wingo sits down with legendary Triangle founder Mike Doernberg to explore the earliest chapters of his career, from CPA to multi-exit entrepreneur.

Mike walks through the founding of Marathon, the rise of early PC-driven consulting, the creation and spinout of SmartPath, raising capital through the old-school angel gauntlets, navigating the DoubleClick acquisition, and why “retirement” lasted all of three months.

Tune in to hear:

• What the early startup ecosystem looked like before the Triangle was “the Triangle.”
• The origins of Marathon and how the rise of PCs and early web consulting created new opportunities.
• How a project inside GlaxoSmithKline became the spark that turned into the SmartPath product.
• Mike’s philosophy for spinning out products successfully, and why strict separation is essential.
• Raising capital in the 90s and early 2000s: angel gauntlets, tough rooms, and memorable TIG stories.
• The SmartPath exit to DoubleClick and why Mike now believes they sold too early.
• How exiting young led him to a very short-lived “retirement” and why founders struggle to sit still.

Where to Find Mike Doernberg:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldoernberg/
PlayMetrics: https://home.playmetrics.com/

Where to Find Scot Wingo:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/
• Tweener Times: https://www.tweenertimes.com/
• X: https://x.com/scotwingo

In this episode:
01:02 – Mike’s early background & move to NC
03:30 – Becoming a CPA but wanting more
05:54 – Early exposure to startups at Ernst & Young
07:50 – Why entrepreneurship became inevitable
09:50 – Story of Burl Software and Y2K
12:10 – How Marathon was formed
13:22 – Rising PC adoption and early web consulting
14:51 – Early e-commerce and building internet applications
17:00 – How the GlaxoSmithKline project inspired SmartPath
19:06 – The power of deeply understanding a customer problem
20:34 – Building early commerce & workflow applications
23:40 – SmartPath as an early low-code platform
24:59 – Why selling SmartPath was his biggest mistake
26:00 – Raising venture in the 90s & 2000s
28:20 – The TIG pitching gauntlet
30:00 – A founder’s early-career fear of the unknown
31:10 – The SmartPath exit to DoubleClick
33:00 – Life at DoubleClick & post-acquisition changes
35:20 – Mike retires for 3 months (Home Depot era)
36:50 – Why founders struggle not to build
38:45 – The addiction and community of company building

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This episode of Triangle Tweener Talks is hosted by Scot Wingo, presented and produced by Triangle Tweener Fund, with creative assets and design support from Walk West.

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Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:

• Atomic Object: https://atomicobject.com/