Jay Balakrishnan

Jay Balakrishnan
Balakrishnan, Sanjay
Jay Balakrishnan
Occupation	Founder, HesWare, Software Developer

Career

Jay Balakrishnan is a pioneering figure in the early microcomputer software and video game industries. He founded Human Engineered Software (HesWare) on his 25th birthday in June 1980 from his Los Angeles apartment, launching a company that became a significant force in early home computing. HesWare published a broad portfolio of utility software, games, educational programs, and hardware accessories across a wide range of platforms, including the Commodore PET, Vic-20, C64, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit systems.

Early Life and Education

Jay's father, Narayana Pillai Balakrishnan, was a renowned Indian musician and yoga practitioner who settled in the United States, while his American mother, Janice, had a deep affinity for Indian culture. Balakrishnan spent parts of his childhood and adolescence in Kerala, India, attending schools in Kochi, Kalamassery, Thiruvananthapuram, and Aluva, before completing his college education in the United States at the University of Southern Florida with a degree in finance and a minor in computer science.

During a summer break from university, while working at the Naval Electronics System Command in Charleston, Balakrishnan describes this discovery of computers as a "religious experience." After graduating he worked as a programmer for GTE and later as a systems analyst at Hughes Helicopter. In 1978, he purchased a Commodore PET, initially for piloting calculations, but soon became captivated by its programming potential.

Founding of HesWare (1980)

From and apartment in Riverside, California, using a bedroom door across two file cabinets as a desk, with cables wound around the doorknob, HesWare captured the garage startup narrative of the era. Here Balakrishnan began selling an 8K 6502 assembler, HESbal, and a text editor, HESedit, which he wrote and initially intended to publish as magazine type-in listings. Orders started coming from small advertisements placed in early computer magazines and newsletters such as Kilobaud, Compute!, and The Midnite Software Gazette.

HesWare: Rapid Growth (1980-1983)

With an initial focus on the Commodore PET, HesWare quickly diversified its support to include the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Atari 8-bit computers. USI, a privately owned supplier of microcomputer components, wanting to expand into the software market, purchased a controlling interest in HesWare, with Balakrishnan staying on as vice president.

A new professional management team was brought over, headed by Ted Morgan, previously general manager of the Computer Products Division of USI. Before that he had spent thirteen years at Xerox in sales and marketing positions. By the summer of 1983, USI was in deep financial trouble, for reasons largely unrelated to the software division. USI needed cash to stay afloat. Software companies were benefiting from investor excitement that summer, so USI "spun off" HES and persuaded three investors, including Microsoft to kick in $1.5 million each for equity in the new independent company.

By early 1984, HesWare had achieved a significant market standing. InfoWorld reported that the company was tied with Broderbund as the world's tenth-largest microcomputer-software company and, notably, the largest entertainment-software company, boasting $13 million in sales for 1983.

Balakrishnan also helped introduce British game developer Jeff Minter to the U.S. market and released high-profile HesWare titles such as Gridrunner, Project: Space Station, and Mr. TNT.

HesWare: Rapid Collapse (1984)

HesWare was the victim of increased competition and a weak software market in 1984. This was compounded by high inventory costs for cartidges, a medium that HesWare favored more than some of their competitors who primarily distributed software on floppy disks. There was an attempt by Avant-Garde Publishing to acquire HesWare, but the offer was blocked by a bankruptcy court judge, and the deal fell through. HesWare closed its doors.

Later Years and Legacy

Following HesWare’s closure, Balakrishnan transitioned into executive production roles at major game studios. He served as Executive Producer at Sierra/Dynamix, WildTangent, and Radical Entertainment, overseeing the development of over 80 games, including Crash Tag Team Racing, EarthSiege 2, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, and CSI: Miami.

In later years, Balakrishnan also engaged in education, teaching a course on Mahatma Gandhi and nonviolence through the TELOS program. He is a licensed pilot and yoga practitioner, maintaining interests that reflect both his technical and humanistic pursuits.

Jay Balakrishnan is the rare early software pioneer that continued in the often high-pressure game development field for 30+ years.

Links

• Software People Page 238