Lee Chen had already helped build one networking company, Foundry Networks, when he started another in 2004. His new firm, A10 Networks, made application delivery controllers, the boxes that sit in front of a data center and spread incoming traffic across many servers. They keep sites fast, fend off attacks and stop one overloaded machine from taking down an app. By its March 2014 offering, A10 sold to large web companies, carriers and enterprises around the world.

A Second Act for Lee Chen

Chen founded A10 in San Jose to take on F5 Networks, the leader in load balancing. A10 built its Thunder line on its own operating system, aiming for more performance per dollar. It won customers among big internet firms and phone carriers, which ran enormous traffic and were sensitive to price. A10 also sold carrier-grade tools to help operators stretch their dwindling supply of old internet addresses.

Fifteen Dollars on the NYSE

A10 priced its offering at $15 a share on March 21, 2014, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ATEN, raising $187.5 million with selling holders. Growth slowed after the offering, and the stock spent years below its debut price. A10 cut costs, focused on profit, and added security features to its products. It remains an independent public company on the NYSE.

Cover: Acrobat, Gaston Lachaise. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for an acrobat in balance (load balancing).