Fusion-io develops new method for data storage

Fusion-io's founders, David Flynn and Rick White, believe in Walt Disney.

Specifically, they agree with what Disney said of trying to get funding to open Disneyland: "I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral."

Similarly, Flynn and White personally financed the start-up of their Salt Lake-based firm, working in donated offices and taking little salary and benefits.

Why do it? Well, Flynn and White also are followers of Harvard Business School professor and Utah native Clayton Christensen. In his 1997 book, "The Innovator's Dilemma," Christensen coined the term "disruptive technology" to refer to a new technology that unexpectedly displaces an existing one.

Flynn and White believe that Fusion-io's technology will change the way data storage systems are designed and used. Their belief got them through that first year and helped them move past angel investors who were too worried about the risks of bringing an entirely new storage solution to market.

Eventually, Flynn and White found an angel who believed in them. And their faith and patience have begun to bear fruit as the company now boasts more than 100 employees, including Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak, Fusion-io's full-time chief scientist.

Industry perceptions are changing, too, with more than 400 Fortune 2000 companies enjoying the ability of Fusion-io to radically improve performance of I/O (input-output) devices while also cutting capital, operating and power costs.

Sounds a lot like Disneyland.