"We restructured the company yesterday," she said. "A total of 14 people left through restructuring-related resignations or terminations." In response to one rumor floated that the firm was shutting its doors totally, Shively gave a definite denial. "That's not accurate at all," she said. "We're bringing on 15 or 20 additional people, so we'll actually end up with a higher staffing number than before."

All of the new hires will be tech developers, marketing and implementation people, Shively explained, all chosen to "support the ramp-up of Bluewire. The focus is now on Capital Thinking as an enterprise software company." Toward that end, the startup has already signed JP Morgan as a client and has since added PNC Bank "and others."

Asked about the recent bloodbath in the dot-com field, "My take is that these are very different kinds of companies," she said, invoking the old "find a need and fill it" mentality. "If you're around today, it has a lot to do with whether or not you have a market for the products you're offering. The belief that you can source and close a deal on-line has proven not to be the case. We're not trying to do that. We're making it cheaper for a bank or mortgage broker to get a deal done. We never thought you could automate the process."