Former Jive Software chief executive Dave Hersh is getting back into Portland technology, buying a venerable e-commerce firm that had fallen on hard times.

Monsoon emerged from Powell's Books in 1998 to help market books, music and DVDs online. The company has changed hands multiple times since then, and Hersh said prior owner Oak Hill Capital Partners had essentially put it on "life support."

But Hersh said there's still life in Monsoon's current business, helping small retailers sell their goods through online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. And with the startup market nearly saturated, he said it's more appealing to revive an existing business than try to build and fund a new one from scratch.

"What I'm doing is move it from life support mode to innovation mode," said Hersh, who will become Monsoon's chief executive and commute weekly from his home in California. "I think you could do a lot in this space with the right team."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Monsoon employs 18 in an office near Pioneer Courthouse Square, and Hersh said they're excited about new ownership.

"They have been through a lot of ups and downs, but everyone is really excited about having a direction, known what mountain to climb," he said.

Joining Hersh at Monsoon are Matt Wilkinson, chief product officer, and Michael Maloney, head of sales. Monsoon founder Kanth Gopalpur, who sold the company in 2010, returns to serve as an adviser.

Jive, founded in 2001, helped kindle Portland's technology renaissance with social networking technology for businesses. Though the company ultimately moved its headquarters to California, Jive the largest technology business to emerge from Oregon in generations.

The company's alumni went on to staff many younger technology businesses and Jive co-founders Bill Lynch and Matt Tucker have also remained active in Oregon technology. Lynch is now a vice president at Portland-based Cloudability, while Tucker started a new Portland company last summer called Koan.

Hersh, now 44, remained active in Portland's tech scene after leaving Jive. He helped start an Oregon company called Ripfog, which he later sold to Cloudability.

Though Portland has a relatively small tech community, Hersh said the city compares favorably with the crowded tech scene in the Bay Area.

"Everything's been picked over 100 times. So you can't really find diamonds in the rough," Hersh said. "In smaller markets you can find a lot of opportunities."

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699

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