Trying To Stick It To Microsoft

Thanks, but no thanks. That's not the response most entrepreneurs would choose if Microsoft Corp. courted them. But for Louis Rosenberg, founder of Immersion Corp., a maker of joystick technology that helps users "feel" on-screen action, it was ultimately the only possible answer. "I just didn't want to be finished before we got started," says Rosenberg, 27.

It wasn't an easy choice. For much of 1995, Microsoft's $350 million-a-year hardware unit had been in talks to acquire an exclusive license on Immersion's technology. It would have meant millions of dollars for the tiny San Jose (Calif.) company (table). But in the end, Rosenberg took his "force-feedback" technology to Microsoft's joystick rivals instead, pitting his 20-person staff of young techies against high tech's most ruthless competitor.