Day One to Year Thirty: Steven Carlson’s Journey as a Founder of SmartSafety Software

3 days ago

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In 1996, three developers pooled their resources to form a company. Thirty years later, Steven Carlson is still writing code, riding mountain bikes with his co-founders, and watching the software they built evolve. As the company marks its 30th anniversary, Steven shares his story from day one.

In 1996, Steven Carlson partnered with Jim Obenchain and Brett Murrell to form a software company. They did not start with a massive corporate blueprint. They were simply three developers who had worked on a few projects together and decided to pool their resources.

Thirty years later, that company is what we know now as SmartSafety Software. As the organization celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026, Steven remains one of the original architects of its success. He has been with the company since day one, watching it transition from a loose collection of individual projects into a highly structured developer of incident diagramming tools used by law enforcement and federal agencies worldwide.

Key Takeaways:

Steven Carlson is an original founder, starting the company in 1996 alongside Jim Obenchain and Brett Murrell.
He began his career working for the Texas Transportation Institute while studying at Texas A&M, which eventually led him to Idaho.
He views the company's shift to desktop software development as the defining structural change that organized the business.
His primary professional advice is to never get complacent, noting that software development cycles that once took months now take days.
Outside of the office, Steven is an avid elk hunter, mountain biker, and a grandfather of six.

From Texas A&M to an Idaho Startup

Steven’s entry into the software industry began in Texas. While studying at Texas A&M University, he took a job working for the Texas Transportation Institute. The knowledge and experience he gained working on transportation-related subjects opened the door for a major project that required him to relocate to Idaho.

It was in Idaho that he met Jim Obenchain and Brett Murrell. After collaborating on a few initial projects, the three men officially formed their company in 1996.

In the early days, the business was loosely organized. Steven, Jim, and Brett each managed their own separate projects under the same company umbrella. They eventually hired a few employees, including Brenda Crowe and Mike Wernsing, whom Steven describes as a "rock-solid part of the company" who have remained crucial to its operations over the decades.

Consolidating the Vision: The Shift to Desktop Software

For the first several years, the company operated without a singular, unified product focus. That changed when they brought on Josh Everts.

According to Steven, Josh fundamentally changed how the company did business by consolidating their efforts and bringing the team together under one clear objective: desktop software development.

This transition required difficult decisions. Steven recalls an early project called Traffic Lab, which was one of the first projects developed by another long-term team member, Brenda. While the tool was highly useful at the time, the leadership team realized that to grow as a cohesive company, they needed to abandon side projects and focus entirely on their core desktop products.

"We kind of let that one go by the wayside," Steven said. "But the things I'm proud of are just the evolution of the software that we've developed over the years."

Moving from a loosely joined group of developers to a formal, organized software company allowed them to see the bigger picture, operate more efficiently, and ultimately scale their software for a global user base.

PVC Pipes and Marshmallow Wars: Building a Culture

While the business structure formalized, the internal culture remained highly personal. Steven attributes the company's 30-year survival to the genuine relationships built between the employees.

He points to one specific afternoon as a prime example of how the team bonded. On a standard workday, co-founder Brett Murrell walked through the back door carrying a bag full of PVC pipes. He announced that he had built marshmallow guns and that the office was going to have a marshmallow war.

Shortly after, the entire team grabbed their PVC pipes, split up, hid behind desks, and spent 30 minutes shooting marshmallows at each other across the office.

"We were all kids at heart," Steven said. "When you're doing that, your differences in personalities really start to diminish. You're getting to know each other, and all the differences kind of melt away. It just makes a much more solid team base."

That foundation of friendship has dictated how the company operates. Steven notes that at previous jobs, work was strictly business. At SmartSafety, employees share their day-to-day lives. When a team member goes through a difficult personal issue, the entire team feels the impact and steps in to support them.

Surviving Acquisitions Without Losing the Core

Over three decades, SmartSafety Software has experienced significant corporate changes, including multiple acquisitions. Often, when a larger entity purchases a small software firm, the original culture is immediately replaced by strict corporate mandates.

Steven credits the acquiring companies for recognizing the value of what the founders had built and choosing not to interfere.

"They've never come in to try to change our culture," Steven said. "They've let us be who we are. We don't have to be somebody that we're not. That's another thing I appreciate about it."

The Rule of Software: Never Get Complacent

Having written code for 30 years, Steven has watched the technology industry completely reinvent itself multiple times. When asked what lesson he values most from his career, his answer is immediate: never get complacent.

When SmartSafety first started, software development moved slowly. Turnaround times for new features or updates were long. Today, with new frameworks and emerging technologies, development cycles are exponentially faster.

"What used to take months or years to develop now takes a fraction of that time," Steven said. "You have to be flexible, and you have to be able to learn and move with those times. Otherwise, you'll get left behind. Don't think you know everything. Be proactive in learning about other technologies."

He views the current integration of new tools as an exciting opportunity to broaden the company's software offerings and enter new channels.

Elk Hunting, Mountain Biking, and the Next 30 Years

Outside of the office, Steven’s life is defined by his family and the Idaho wilderness. He has been married for 36 years, has six children, five granddaughters, and a grandson arriving in mid-September.

He is an avid outdoorsman who hunts elk and deer on public land. He admires the scenery of the Idaho wilderness, the nature around him, and the calm that it brings. He also maintains close ties with his original business partners. Every Friday, Steven and co-founder Jim Obenchain hit the trails to ride mountain bikes together.

As Steven approaches his 60th birthday next month, the 30th anniversary of the company brings mixed emotions, but he remains deeply invested in what’s to come and is excited for the future!

"I think it's pretty cool that we've been around that long," Steven said. "I'm excited to see where we're heading for the next 30 years. I won't be here for that, but it'll be exciting to see."