Chad Storey is a Kirkland, Washington–based founder, operator, and investor who has built, scaled, and exited eight companies since 1999 across network security, competitive intelligence, real estate software, semiconductor test equipment, and AI. He is best known for founding Lockdown Networks, acquired by McAfee in 2008, and for building Asset Realty Group into an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private company.
Thirty years, one continuous build.
1991 — 1997
United States Navy — Fire Control & Tomahawk
Chad's engineering career started in shipboard combat systems: data systems engineering, fire control, and work tied to the Tomahawk cruise missile program. Six years of high-consequence systems work set the standard he still runs companies by — instrument everything, rehearse the failure mode, ship only what survives contact with reality. He earned a B.S. in Computer Science (cum laude, with physics) from Hawaii Pacific University while serving active duty at Pearl Harbor.
1998 — 2000
RealNetworks & the Seattle internet build-out
Graduate work in information technology at the University of Washington ran alongside the first Seattle internet wave. Working inside streaming-media infrastructure taught him how consumer-scale distributed systems break, and how quickly a category can be created and then commoditized.
2000 — 2008
QL2 Software and Lockdown Networks
He co-founded QL2 Software in 2000, pioneering real-time web data extraction and competitive price intelligence now used across travel, retail, hospitality, and energy in four countries. In 2001 he founded Lockdown Networks, an appliance-based network access control pioneer that raised through Series B, deployed across healthcare, finance, retail, and federal, state and local government in North America, Europe, and Japan, and was acquired by McAfee in August 2008.
2009 — 2020
Asset Realty Group and the Pipeline platform
Chad applied a software operator's playbook to residential real estate: built Asset Realty Group from zero into one of the Pacific Northwest's fastest-growing brokerages, named to the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies and repeatedly recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal. Behind it sat Pipeline, an in-house lead-routing, accountability, and agent-productivity platform that scaled across 35+ markets and processed 200M+ records.
2021 — Today
Voice AI, semiconductors, and smart homes
Today he builds Conversion Coaching AI (founded 2025), which applies Voice AI and conversation intelligence to sales performance; leads Delta V Instruments, with 45+ years of semiconductor burn-in, reliability test, and RF HTOL platforms serving defense and commercial customers; and runs Revive Renew Remodel and Legacy Northwest, bringing home automation into high-craft residential construction.
Frequently asked questions.
What is Chad Storey best known for?
Founding Lockdown Networks, the Seattle network access control company acquired by McAfee in 2008, and building Asset Realty Group into an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private company.
What is Chad Storey's background before startups?
He served in the United States Navy from 1991 to 1997 as a data systems engineer working on shipboard fire control and the Tomahawk cruise missile program, while completing a computer science degree at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu.
How can I contact Chad Storey?
The fastest route is LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/barronstorey73 — he reads founder and operator messages directly.