While Harvard graduates praised the low-key Trilogy management style, they also point to drawbacks, which are linked in large part to its fast growth and its attempt to maintain a small company feel in the face of that growth.

"Trilogy focuses so much on raw talent and great people, sometimes they overlook logistical problems," says Elizabeth Schwartz '98.

Those problems include not having enough parking spaces in the company lot or setting up computers for new employees.

Taking care of little details "was frustrating in the beginning, but I have gotten used to it," Surdulescu says.

While Trilogy plans to continue its rapid rate of hiring, tremendous growth poises a problem as the company tries to cater every potential client.

"The biggest weakness is that we're growing so fast," says Jeff Daniel, director of recruiting.

"There are deals we have to walk away from because we don't have enough people," Miri says.

While Trilogy casts itself as the "next great software company," Trilogy is not in the operating system or personal computer software and faces challenges in establishing a market niche for its products.

"In the case of Trilogy, they have to evangelize their products through marketing," says Jimmie C. Chang, a technology analyst at U.S. Trust, an investment consulting firm.

Trilogy also must battle other start-up companies that are nipping at its heels, Chang says.

While Liemandt says the company will carefully decide when to go public, Trilogy must avoid the inherent pitfalls of switching from the private world to Wall Street and public ownership.

"The danger down the road is that when they go public, people cash out," Chang says. "I think that there are a lot of companies that were too young when they went public."

Yet the risks and downsides of small notwithstanding, the company's culture is selling well among Harvard students, many of whom are drawn to the company by friends who are already there.

"They seem to hire students right out of college to come back to college to talk to college kids," says Judy Murray, the OCS director of recruiting.

Not an Average Joe