Robert Lee is the founder and CEO of ACME Payments Systems Corp., a micropayments startup in Seattle, WA, as well as the founder and CEO of TVDeeBee Corp., soon to be the largest online database of pictures and information on American television. Previously, Lee was the founder and CEO of UTM Systems Corp., the first company to successfully enable online PIN-based debit transactions within the US debit networks.
Lee is a lifelong entrepreneur whose diverse background encompasses computer programming and hardware design, marketing consulting, advertising and electronic payment systems.
As the founder and chief strategist behind successful businesses in both the U.S. and Canada, Lee and his companies have received national media exposure that included coverage in the New York Times and the front page of PC Week (now eWeek). Having witnessed firsthand the remarkable transformation of technology in the last 25 years, Lee is known for his unique ability to put high-tech concepts into application. During his professional career, he has founded and built a number of successful businesses in the United States and Canada.
In 1983, Mr. Lee founded SpectraFAX Corp., a manufacturer and marketer of color image processing products for office automation, computer graphics and desktop publishing applications. SpectraFAX digital scanners were designed to convert color or black-and-white photographic images and text into a digital format that could be entered into, and stored on, a personal computer. Also while at SpectraFAX, Mr. Lee conceptualized and supervised the development of a PC-based facsimile circuit board. The FAXcard consisted of a PC-based board and software that allowed PCs to send scanned images and text to Group III facsimile machines, as well as to receive transmissions from fax machines for storage, display and printing. Mr. Lee used the prototype of the FAXcard to successfully close joint venture development contracts for the technology with a Japanese multi-national company and a major domestic manufacturer.
He attended school in Nova Scotia, Canada, and also completed various computer-programming courses in Toronto. His experience with computers ranged from IBM and Honeywell mainframes, to microcomputers made by Radio Shack/Tandy, IBM and Apple. His working knowledge of computer languages includes COBOL, Fortran, Basic and C.