Gearworks: High Growth Technology Start-up

Gearworks is a premier provider of location-based mobile business applications. They create software for cell phones that links field employees to headquarters operations. Under the leadership of a new CEO, Gearworks had signed two new partnership agreements that were destined to create fast growth for the organization. One critical hole that needed to be filled to facilitate that growth was a director of information technology. This position is critical because this person's main charge is maintaining 100 percent uptime for Gearworks' applications. This means maintaining constant interaction with clients, vendors, technical personnel and the management team. In the "software as a service" model that Gearworks deploys, downtime literally means lost revenue, and possibly even lost customers.

Technical, management and strong communication skills were an absolute must. Also, because the role was so visible in the organization, it was essential this person fit seamlessly into the unique culture of Gearworks. The culture included many of the traditional facets of a start-up -- fast pace, wearing multiple hats and bootstrapping for necessary resources. Yet, Gearworks had also been in business for eight years and was fairly sophisticated in terms of business process and management principles.

After conducting a Values Assessment with the executive team at Gearworks, KeyStone built a cultural profile and integrated it with the skills profile for the role. After multiple interviews, a list of four candidates was presented and eventually interviewed by Gearworks. Although the culture fit was close with the first four, there was concern about the level of technical expertise in the candidates. KeyStone went back to work immediately with a slightly revised profile. Shortly thereafter, KeyStone returned to Gearworks with the perfect candidate - strong technical background, start-up experience, and strong affinity for the values, vision and mission of the organization. After six months in the role, CEO Todd Krautkremer, said, "KeyStone has delivered on its promise. Scott has proven to be an outstanding individual with the right skill, knowledge, temperament and authority needed for success. Nice job!"

"Going through the values assessment process also provided added value for Gearworks", Dan Kinsella, CFO, stated. "The values mapping approach that Keystone initiated was of great importance to Gearworks. The process helped us to put into words the kind of strong culture we possess. By leading the discussion, the Keystone staff helped us to establish a new, lasting capability within our organization."

More recently, Gearworks secured over $21 million in new capital for expansion. They have added over 2,500 new customers and are currently providing their technology to some of the most well known service oriented brands in the country, including Pepsi Bottling, Select Comfort and Roto-Rooter.

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