Schoolwires, the State College-based provider of online communication, community management and productivity solutions for school districts, expects to expand company staff by 55 percent by the end of 2009. That jump to approximately 140 from 90 employees at the end of last year will expand capacity in sales, marketing, customer service, interactive design, professional services, product development and quality control, according to Ed Marflak, founder, president and chief executive officer.
“We feel particularly blessed to be expanding in times like these,” says Marflak, noting that the company’s management team recognized “an inflection point” in the market last year that marked a growth opportunity. The company is now moving aggressively to seize it by expanding its outreach to customers while also opening its first international office in Asia of about 10 staff. Differences in time zones between the U.S. and Asia will accelerate the product cycle by allowing continuous, 24-hour development of software projects, he noted.
Ranked as the 328th fastest growing private company among the Inc 500 and third fastest grower in the education industry in 2007 and 2008, Schoolwires expects to add approximately 25 of its new hires to headquarters in State College and the balance to its Asian office and remote sales force across the United States.
Now serving some 4 million users in more than 4,000 schools and over 1,000 school districts across the United States and in Mexico, Schoolwires, which has doubled revenues on average each year since entering the market in 2003, expects to end this year above $10 million in sales and exceed $50 million by the end of 2012 as it expands its customer base and services that manage and support the website and community management platform within a school district.
Source: Ed Marflak, Schoolwires
Writer: Joseph Plummer
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