Mike Muhney


Mike Muhney was the co-inventor, along with Pat Sullivan, of ACT! contact management software. Muhney was born and raised in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in finance. He began his career with IBM in 1975 and was professionally trained in their intensive full-time 6-month-long internal sales school.
In 1986 Mike and Pat Sullivan co-founded Conductor Software built around a product they originally called QuotePro, which was later renamed Margin Maker. Ultimately, Margin Maker failed, and, with only $15,000 remaining from an angel investment of $100,000, they had to come up with another idea or close down the business. This idea was ACT! Released in 1987, ACT! went on to win over 100 awards globally, including numerous PC Magazine Editor’s Choice awards and is still the predominant contact manager tool, with an estimated 10 million users worldwide.
In February 2010 Muhney incorporated VIPorbit Software, a tool for efficient relationship and calendar management for Apple devices. VIPorbit Software is a funded company headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the same birthplace of his first creation ACT!. iBusiness ranked VIPorbit #1 of the Top 50 Best Business Apps for iPhone and iPad users for 2012 and 2013, and ranked its Mac product #3 in its Top 25 business apps for Mac List.

Personal

Muhney and his wife Janet live in a suburb of Dallas, Texas, and have four children and eight grandchildren. One of his children, Michael Muhney, is an actor.

Works

Who's In Your Orbit: Beyond Facebook--Creating Relationships That Matter, VIPorbit, 2011.