Short answers, pulled from the story.
Toren Smith moved to Japan in 1986 to license manga for American publication. He had previously made arrangements with Eclipse Comics to provide the necessary publishing support.
By the early nineties, Studio Proteus worked with three major publishers: Eclipse Comics, Innovation Publishing, and Dark Horse. Work with Eclipse began within months of Smith's first trip to Japan.
Page rates for Studio Proteus letterers and translators stood as the highest in the industry. They also received royalties, a practice unique to Studio Proteus at the time.
Reports widely claimed they bought the company itself, but this was erroneous. Dark Horse Comics announced it purchased the publication rights to Studio Proteus translations in February 2004.
Over fifteen years, Smith produced seventy thousand pages of manga while maintaining these rigorous production values. He stated he was burning out after producing seventy thousand pages over fifteen years.