Phenoms Under 40 - CUA Magazine - The Catholic University of ...

Chris Dolan and James McGrath ■“... I’m a nuts-and-bolts guy;”Chris is the vision guy.Photos: Bennett Sell-Kline Photography14 C U A M A G A Z I N EAs CUA students, Chris Dolan(left) and James McGrath likedto drive around Washingtonareaneighborhoods and talkabout developing properties together.Dolan, a 1995 architectural design graduate,and McGrath, a 1994 civil engineeringgraduate, went their separate ways afterCatholic University. But eight years later,they and a third partner combined theirknowledge of architecture, constructionand engineering to form 365 Main, a SanFrancisco-based firm that develops andoperates specially designed data centers.“There was always an interest in gettingback together to do business, but Inever would have imagined it would be inCalifornia,” McGrath says. “And of thisscale,” Dolan adds.Today, they oversee one million squarefeet of data-center space and have morethan 165 employees. With annual revenuein excess of $100 million, the company has250 customers, including Ticketmaster, theOakland Raiders and Sun Microsystems.Companies ranging from online photosharingservices to retailers to banks seekto protect the mission-critical data storedin their computers. Centers like thosedeveloped and managed by Dolan andMcGrath house data in a built environmentwith guaranteed electric power, connectivity,temperature control and security.365 Main grew out of the dot-combust. In 2002, Dolan and McGrath werebuilding data centers together for a startupInternet company. After the dot-comfiled for bankruptcy that year, they teamedup with a private equity partner and startedtheir own firm.Data centers require sophisticated designand construction. The construction cost persquare foot is 10 times that of a typicaloffice building. Once built, a data centermight have power bills in excess of $1million a month, says Dolan. In fact, 365Main’s San Francisco building is the localpower company’s largest customer.365 Main has faced an additional challenge:Three of its five properties — and anotherunder development — are in California,requiring design and construction to withstandearthquakes.Little seems to shake the relationshipof the two 37-year-olds, however. Theylive eight blocks apart. (Dolan’s wife, SofieNilsson, is a 1994 and 1996 CUA graduate.)They also share a “hobby business” —a residential construction company.“Some of the people we do business withcan’t understand how we can be essentiallybest friends but also business partners,”says McGrath, who offers an explanation:“I’m a nuts-and-bolts guy; Chris is thevision guy.”To Dolan, success is providing a teamwork-orientedenvironment. In seven years,the company has lost just two employees,both to relocation out of the country. ForMcGrath, success means the respect of hispeers and competing companies.Henry Leedeman, a project executivewith Cupertino Electric, a company thatdesigns and installs electrical systems, hasworked with Dolan and McGrath for years.“What I’ve enjoyed about working withChris and Jamie is that they hang on totheir ethics throughout the ups and downs,”he says.Leedeman also respects their entrepreneurialspirit. “They’re smart and not afraidto take chances,” he says.