Michael Prolman started his career in the computer and publishing industries as a technical writer at Data General, then a technical instructor at ComputerVision and Wang Laboratories. After that, he co-founded a relational database training and consulting company. His most noteworthy project there was designing and building the Weapons Importation Tracking System for the entire United States. He also sold and marketed consulting services and software products. He started Sapphire Press in 1992 as a book publishing company. After seeing a demonstration of the Web in early 1994, he immediately directed the company to focus exclusively on Web publishing. Michael earned a B.A. summa cum laude in philosophy from Boston University. He has won diverse awards and honors such as a National Science Foundation Fellowship, an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant from the National Institutes of Health, and medals in the New England ballroom dance championships.