iSqFt has merged information technology with traditional bidding and construction planning methods to realize a 30 percent increase in revenue and a 230 percent jump in employment over the last two years.
Founded in 1993, the Blue Ash-based firm began as a client-based software firm, says Dave Conway, president and CEO. That started to change when the company became serious about leveraging the Internet.
The result was Internet Plan Room and Private Construction Offices.
"The Internet Plan room is a service for subcontractors to gain access to bidding projects," Conway says. "They get a list of the projects in their market area and are able to view those projects on blueprints, view the specifications, search queries and they can find the kind of projects they would like to bid on. We connect subcontractors to the general contractors who are actually bidding the job. And then the general contractors will use an online tool (Private Construction Office) to manage the bidding process so they can manage their documents, manage their data base of subcontractors as well as all the communications that occur during the bidding phase."
The technology improves business processes, which reduces costs and increases efficiencies and effectiveness, he says.
Not only has iSqFt been recognized as one of Ohio's fastest-growing companies, but as one of the best places to work. Along the way, employment has increased from 150 to 350 in the last two years.
The company has received both Ohio Third Frontier money -- $2 million in 2006 and another $1 million earlier this year to further develop its platform -- and venture capital from Ohio Capital Fund participants like River Cities Capital Fund, Chysalis Ventures, Tri-State Growth Capital Fund and Reservoir Venture Partners.
Source: Dave Conway, iSqFt
Writer: Gene Monteith