I had this idea when I ran into Rob Murray, president of iProspect, and he and Stuart Larkins, vice president of search at Performics, discussed the state of the industry. While some of the younger folks might avoid being seen with the competition, these guys have been working the shows, side by side, for over half a decade. They joked that while their respective founders got the millions, they got, well, a great career out of the deal.

"Would I have predicted this kind of growth?" asked Murray. "No. But I felt strong about the category and Frederick's passion." He had just quit a nice job at Bain & Co. to work at a small investment bank when he caught up with Frederick Marckini, the firm's founder. Marckini had other plans for Murray. He wanted him on board.

It wasn't that easy. "In 1999 things were hot, but you were starting to see some companies not make it," said Murray. "It was a leap of faith to leave a good paying job to take equity for something I didn't know." What the man did have was a serious set of business skills and drive. "I am very personally driven. If I set a target, I reach it," he concluded.

Larkins had a similarly story. He was working for a division of GE capital as an internal quality consultant. He was also certified as a black belt in the business leadership training known as Six Sigma. When a friend of his introduced him to Performics' founder, "I knew nothing about the industry," he admitted. "What I did know was how to manage people, processes and develop solutions."

He was in for a surprise. The first officer's conference room also served as the kitchen. "One day a Fortune 100 client pops in town and wants to come over and see the offices," he said. "Uh-oh. I cleaned the kitchen-slash-conference room and we start the meeting. At one point, some temp comes in, gets her food, puts it in the microwave and sits down to eat next to us. This is when you know you are a start-up company." To his credit, that same client remains on the Performics roster.

Work ethic and personal satisfaction are strong with this group. Emily Granger, vice president of TrafficBuyer, explains, "I don't go to work everyday because I am fighting evil villains and saving the world; I go because I really and truly enjoy it. You feel smart. You feel tired, but you should be at the end of a hard day of work."

Part of being an old-timer is remembering how things used to be. "I didn't care for the cat and mouse game that [search] was in 2000 and am impressed with the partnerships with the engines that exist today," said Joe Laratro, CTO of morevisibility. Joe recently celebrated his six-year anniversary with the firm.

While the path to search varies, each of these players had mastered the basics prior to getting into the game. None of them knew search before they joined the industry, suggesting that solid management skills are much more important than domain knowledge. They are driven not by aspirations of a cash buyout, but by the desire to realize goals, as evidenced by the "I know I can do this" attitude. These are strong businesspeople, with the ability to complement a founder's passion, something all startups need.

Larkins sums it up best: "I'm not the founder, but the firm is a part of me. I want to succeed."