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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m D e c e m b e r 2 0 15 • I NSIGH T | 23 A l Zeise knew he had it figured out. He and his team at ZyQuest had developed soware for oil companies to report their excise tax electronically — something many states and the federal government would require oil companies to do in the late 1990s. He proved their solution, Zytax, worked for every fuel company in Wisconsin as well as Arkansas and Nebraska. ey were gearing up to provide a 50-state solution when he scored an audience with Arthur Andersen, which was looking for a way for its clients, including BP, Cargill, Amoco and Penzoil, to do the same thing. Coming from "little old Green Bay, Wisconsin," as he likes to say, Zeise realized he was up against a Goliath. "ey had spent about $3 million to $5 million to develop their system, but when they met with us they just realized we were so far ahead of them that they threw away everything they did," Zeise recalls. "We saved their bacon. at gave us instant credibility in the industry, and from there it was a cakewalk. at was our first successful launch." Next came licensing with Texaco and Shell. "To win completely, for a little company, that was pretty big," Zeise says. "From Green Bay?" He blows a Bronx cheer. "I love being underestimated," he says, proud of his two-year degree in data processing from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in 1980. "I love competing. In whatever we do, we win." Al Zeise fuels the flames to see great ideas to fruition B y M a r g a r e t L e B r u n | P h o t o g r a p h s b y S h a n e V a n B o x t e l , I m a g e S t u d i o s