CARL RUSSO, CALIX

When it comes to navigating through the downturn, Calix President and CEO Carl Russo is a straight shooter: “These are the most difficult market circumstances I have ever seen in my career,” Russo said. “Having said that, it is what it is. Deal with it.”

Calix seems to be dealing just fine. The access equipment manufacturer, which operated in stealth mode from its founding in 1999 to its official coming out earlier this year, offers one main product, the C7 — a box that promises to create a “simplified services” network topology by being able to handle the work of next-generation digital loop carriers, DSL access multiplexers (DSLAMs), ATM edge switches, Sonet add/drop multiplexers (ADMs) and Ethernet switches.

Russo has no grand schemes to attract big customers or land more funding. To him, it's all about the normal demands of managing a company. Russo, who was CEO of Cerent when it was acquired by Cisco Systems and stayed on with the technology giant after the deal went through, was one of the early investors in Calix. He served as the company's chairman until a few months ago, when he stepped into the CEO role, replacing founder and now chief strategy officer Mike Hattfield.

“I come at this from an operational background,” Russo said. “The things that Mike does well, I do not do well, and there are things that perhaps I do a little bit better than Mike. So we thought that this would be a better pairing.”

Certainly, a focus on operations is a good thing for a privately held start-up in shaky times. And because Calix passed the 50-customer point sooner than expected, the company needs to make sure it can scale. That involves setting up the right corporate structure and rooting out inefficiencies. But it also involves making more strategic decisions — such as deciding which customers to pursue.

In the case of Calix, a company whose box can handle many different functions, the challenge is paring down a big list of potential customers to the most promising leads. If Calix tried to land every customer that wanted to buy a Sonet ADM or a DSLAM, it would end up spinning its wheels. Instead, Russo said the company is selective about who it targets, preferring companies that understand the simplified services concept.

“Successful companies will segment the market and only pursue those customers it makes sense for them to pursue,” he said. “Once you segment it, it really comes down to execution.”

Of course, if a small, unestablished vendor is to land any new customers in this environment, those customers must have faith in the long-term viability of their vendor. Russo's pedigree certainly can't hurt in that regard, though he downplays the notion.

Instead, the most important success factor is credibility, he said. “One of the things that will build customers' confidence is if you tell them you're going to do one thing, and you do it,” Russo said. “By crisp execution, you set yourself apart.”