MaxStream is one of those companies whose picture of success came together piece by piece.

Only when all the pieces — president and CEO Brad Walters, chief technology

officer Hugh Nielsen, vice president of business development Nick Mecham and vice president of engineering David Steed — were in place could the company achieve its potential.

Steed and Nielsen started Lindon-based MaxStream with another engineer in 1998 to make a cost-effective wireless modem for use in monitoring home electricity meters. The three engineers developed a high-quality product but lacked the sales and marketing expertise to get the word out about what they had.

That's when Brad Walters came in. Fresh from an executive position at a successful tech company, Walters saw the company's potential. His first act was to run a $900 ad in a trade magazine, putting a serious dent in the company's checking account, which held $1,500 at the time.

But Walters' gamble paid off in $20,000 in sales during the next month alone, and MaxStream was on its way.

Walters brought Mecham in to manage the company's sales, and MaxStream now is a leading innovator in wireless modems, add-on products and related software updates, with nearly 50 employees and ambitious plans to develop both low-cost and high-end wireless connectivity devices.