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Boise software CEO: Education is key to economic growth
ProClarity Corp, one of Boise´s largest software firms, projects a rosy future, but one key element could stand in the way.
Julie Howard
The Idaho Statesman
It has little to do with the current economy or stalled corporate investment in technology.
“Local education programs are really important,” Bob Lokken, ProClarity´s president and CEO, told local business leaders on Tuesday. “If we´re going to continue to grow, that will be a gating factor.”
Lokken, who spoke at Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce´s CEO Speaker Series luncheon, said not having access to a local talent pool would be the gate that either lets his firm grow — or not.
“We need to get qualified people up to speed and on board quickly,” he said. “We´ve gotten this far by stealing people from other companies here. We need a mix of seasoned professionals along with people just coming out of school that understand technology.”
Worrying about the local talent pool wasn´t an issue when ProClarity, known at its inception as Knosys, was first started in 1995 by five former employees of Extended Systems. The founders agreed they would need to survive without a salary for at least two years to make the start-up a go.
Today, the company has 130 employees, including 100 in Boise — and all are paid, Lokken said.
In 2002, the company, which focuses on software that analyzes large amounts of data, was named the 59th fastest growing private firm in Inc. magazine´s list of 500 U.S. companies.
“In 1999, we had sales of about $1 million; last year, we did about $15 million,” said Lokken, adding the company counts Home Depot, Idaho Power, Wells Fargo and Micron among its clients. Only 5 percent of its clients are in the Boise area, and 35 percent are outside the United States.
While Lokken said the company´s rapid growth has slowed considerably over the past year amid the economic downturn, it still has a 25 percent growth rate.
“After the 100 percent growth rate we were seeing, it feels like we´re barely moving,” he joked. “We have been profitable or break even, though, for six of our past seven quarters.”
Lokken said current conditions are not to be considered “normal.”
“There are good signs lately that business activity is picking up,” he said. “From what I´ve been hearing, the level of deals are up in the past six to nine weeks.”
ProClarity is ready for that growth, said Lokken.
“We expect to increase our employee base by 15 to 20 percent, with half of that in Boise,” he said.
To offer story ideas or comments, contact Julie Howard
[email protected] or 373-6618
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