Ameen and Temi Olu-Ajayi, top, pose with some of the testers of their KidBasic software: from left, Brittany Ricardo, Isiah Tulloch, Victoria Olu-Ajayi and Joy Ricardo. Staff photo by Nicole Martyn.

Ameen Olu-Ajayi of Laurel grins gleefully as he autographs a technical manual "Dr. Genius."

After four years of late-night programming sessions, Olu-Ajayi and his wife, Temi, this autumn completed and began marketing their brain child _ a software product called KidBasic.

Dubbed "so easy even adults can use it," KidBasic is a programming language (like Visual Basic, C++ or Java) specially tailored to teach children the fundamental concepts of programming and to let them create their own programs.

A cartoon character, Dr. Genius, guides users as young as 4 through the product.

Ameen Olu-Ajayi, a contract software developer, and Temi Olu-Ajayi, a systems engineer with the federal government, said they founded their company, Little Programmer Software, and developed KidBasic to give their daughter and other children a productive alternative to violent computer games.

"We could see the rewarding aspect of kids being able to program," Ameen Olu-Ajayi said. "It could boost their self-esteem and it could help them to learn that they can actually do positive things with the computer.

"They don't have to destroy machines and use guns and do all those violent things in computer games. They have the ability within themselves to create something positive."

The software, which is targeted at 8-year-olds, enables children to write programs as simple as creating a computer button that will, when clicked, produce a meowing cat, a dancing man or a musical ferris wheel. However, it also enables children to create more complex programs, including programs that execute mathematical equations, generate multi-media greetings, calculate compound interest on savings and determine when to buy or sell stocks.

"A lot of positive behaviors are being reinforced through the programming," Temi Olu-Ajayi said, adding that the compound interest program might encourage some children to save money.

The couple, who live in Patuxent Greens, said they found the time to create KidBasic by forsaking television, most recreation and more than a few nights' sleep.

Kid Basic provides users with a cache of pictures, including policemen, babies, astronauts and cheerleaders; oil rigs, snowmobiles, windmills and bumper cars; dolphins, robins and tigers; and even a plague of flies.

Children can add sound to their programs with music riffs ranging from classical to jazz to techno, and sound effects, including animal noises, crowd cheers, ocean waves and the zap of a toy laser.

A speech command lets children program their characters to say words or sentences.

The fledgling entrepreneurs are currently selling KidBasic through their company's Web site, www.littleprogrammer.com., attempting to get it approved for use in Prince George's County schools and hoping to one day achieve sales across the country and beyond.

Chris Foster, the state technology coordinator with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, said there is still a huge market for educational software in the United States.

However, software startups _ like new companies in all sectors _ face numerous challenges and a high failure rate, Foster cautioned.

Marketing, he said, can cost anywhere from several hundred thousand dollars to several million and, currently, investors are scarce. "For some reason, it is hard to get people to be early adopters in Maryland. ... It's hard to get someone to take a risk on a small company, especially after the (IT) crash several years ago."

Fledgling companies, such as Little Programmer Software, often benefit by finding a mentor, a marketing expert or a strategic partner that brings both money and expertise to the venture, he said.

Foster has no personal knowledge of KidBasic. However, based on Foster's assessment of what constitutes a solid startup, KidBasic appears to be doing two key things right.

First, it is pursuing a "domino client" _ a small, local client, such as a school district, that can give a company enough interaction with users and profile to land further contracts.

Second, it appears to have developed considerable intellectual property.

One big risk facing software startups, Foster said, is the chance that an established company will see the product, quickly develop a knock-off and push the startup out of the market.

"The challenge with this market is what is called the barrier to entry," Foster said. "How long would it take someone to reverse-engineer the product or make a better mousetrap."

However, if a startup has taken 12 to 18 months or more to develop a "really good product," larger companies aren't likely to expend time creating a copy, Foster said. Instead, they're more likely to contact the startup to propose a partnership or buyout.

E-mail Linda Strowbridge@ patuxent.com.