Al Shugart International Elects Jon van Bronkhorst as Vice Chairman, Board of Directors.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SOQUEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2000

Al Shugart International (ASI), a resource center focused on helping entrepreneurs launch new enterprises and growing small companies into big companies, announced today it has elected Jon van Bronkhorst as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.

van Bronkhorst also holds positions as ASI Executive Vice President and Manager of the Shugart Venture Fund in addition to seats on seven investment venture Boards: eCongo.com, Inc., Spin Media Network, United States TeleMed Corporation, n& Technology, Inc., StudioFX, Tranxition Corporation, and vpacket.com (the last four companies are also ASI public relations clients).

&uot;I see this appointment as an opportunity for me to continue to play a key role in the success of ASI and all the companies we're working with,&uot; said van Bronkhorst. &uot;I'm proud of what we do and the way we use our knowledge and resources to help entrepreneurs succeed in just about any aspect of their new endeavors.&uot;

&uot;Jon's appointment is intended to accomplish two important objectives,&uot; added Al Shugart, president and CEO of ASI. &uot;First, it will make clear to all, including clients, investors, and investments, who ASI's second in command is. Second, it will provide for immediate management succession should the need arise. There's no doubt that expanding Jon's leadership role will be of great benefit to ASI and our business partners.&uot;

van Bronkhorst has over 15 years experience in business management and development, with a particular focus on market activity and the investment community. In 1996, he was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top stock pickers covering the data storage industry. Throughout his career, he has played an active role helping public and private companies with their strategic business and financial goals, and has also assisted private companies raise private capital and enter the public market via initial public offerings.

Before joining ASI in December 1998, van Bronkhorst held the position of vice president and senior securities analyst with Merrill Lynch, covering the data storage industry -- a position similar to one he held earlier in his career at Robertson Stephens &Company. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, he was vice president of Business Development for HMT Technology, a media company serving the disk drive market. van Bronkhorst played a developmental role in building HMT for success, including analysis of merger and acquisition opportunities, and also aided in the sales and marketing of HMT's products. His history with Al Shugart dates back to a stint at Seagate Technology where he worked directly with Shugart initiating and developing Seagate's first investor relations program. He also spent over four years with the ROLM division of IBM in various financial positions.

Born and raised in the Silicon Valley area of California, van Bronkhorst attended engineering school at UCLA, and received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Menlo College in Atherton, California, in 1983.

About Al Shugart International

Headquartered in Soquel, California with an office in Silicon Valley, Al Shugart International (ASI) is a startup resource company focused on helping entrepreneurs launch new enterprises, and growing small companies into big companies. ASI provides many forms of assistance to entrepreneurs, either directly or indirectly, including investment, management, public relations, human resources, and financial services. Founded by Al Shugart in 1998, ASI's objectives are to maintain active worldwide awareness of technology status and trends, assist entrepreneurial companies with consulting and/or investment, manage a startup/early stage venture capital fund, and operate as a holding company for implementing ideas. More information about Al Shugart International can be found on the World Wide Web at www.alshugart.com.