The brainchild of venture-capital investor Steve Harter, "roll-ups" was an unusual and innovative way to bring together small companies engaged in similar businesses. Beginning in the early 1990s, Harter approached several companies and arranged for an IPO to buy the companies and combine them into a single unit. The earnings allowed the entrepreneurs to buy additional companies. In the process, many employees and managers of the small companies became millionaires through the stock options offered to them. Harter's critics, who dubbed the "roll-ups" as "poof IPO's," claimed that it was often difficult to integrate several different companies and that, if the new company grew too quickly, the whole deal could collapse, leaving stocks tumbling, investors out of luck, and companies in ruins.

Aris Corporation.

For Paul Song, chairman and CEO of Aris Corporation, the computer network and software problems that cause expensive headaches for other...