Software: Breaking Away with a Bundle

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Starting a successful company is one thing, but running it is not always as much fun. That was apparently the feeling of Mitch Kapor, who suddenly resigned last week as chairman of Lotus Development, the largest independent U.S. software firm. Though he will not start a new firm that would compete with Lotus, Kapor said, he is not sure what he will do next: "I'm not leaving with a business plan in my pocket or any intention to write one tomorrow."

Even in a field known for chief executives in jeans and running shoes, Kapor is unconventional. A Yale graduate, he worked as a disk jockey and taught transcendental meditation before he started Lotus in 1982. Co-author of the Lotus 1-2-3 business program, the best-selling software ever, Kapor prospered as Lotus blossomed, and now owns 1.6 million of the company's shares, worth $54 million.