Fortune Systems

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Fortune Systems Corporation, later known as Tigera Group, Inc. and then Connectivity Technologies, Inc., was an American computer company started in 1980 in Foster City, California by Gary B. Friedman, David van den Berg, and Homer Dunn. Its flagship product was the Fortune 32:16, an affordable Unix workstation based on the Motorola 68000 processor.

The company raised substantial venture capital in the early 1980s and moved its headquarters to San Carlos. The 32:16 was unveiled in 1981–1982, began shipping in August 1982, and aimed to reach retail through Computerland. Despite positive press, sales were slow. Fortune’s IPO in March 1983 was one of the era’s largest, and the company posted its first profits in late 1983 and early 1984, though stock subsequently fell and losses grew due to competition from IBM, AT&T, and others.

Leadership changes followed: Friedman resigned in 1983, with James S. Campbell becoming CEO. Fortune tried to turn around with new products, but by the end of 1984 the company faced heavy losses and layoffs. A planned merger with North Star Computers collapsed in 1984, though the companies agreed to collaborate. ComputerLand, Fortune’s largest retailer, sued the company in 1984 and settled in 1985. Retail strategy was abandoned, and Fortune reported multi‑million‑dollar losses through 1985.

By 1986 Fortune managed to show a profit in some quarters and continued restructuring. In 1987, the company’s executives proposed a hardware buyout, but Fortune instead sold most hardware, manufacturing, and related operations to SCI Systems and reorganized as Tigera Group. Tigera then sold its software business to Wang Laboratories in 1988, becoming mainly a holding company.

In 1996, the company moved to New York City, renamed itself Connectivity Technologies, and focused on selling wire and cable for the IT industry after acquiring Connectivity Products. Connectivity Technologies was later merged into Methode Electronics’ Data Solutions division around 2010, and the company effectively ended in 2011.