 When Shearson purchased Faulkner, Dawkins and Sullivan and the company started to expand, Wille and Snyder decided to set out on their own and test their idea for a company that could deliver computer-based financial information.At the time, companies had to purchase raw data directly from a vendor such as Compustat, then hire programmers to make the data user-friendly.Wille and Snyder's vision would offer usable data directly to the client.