2016 marks the tenth year of 303 Software being in business. To celebrate, Stefan and Matt wanted to share some thoughts about how they started, the milestones they hit while growing the company, and how they became the strategic software consulting firm they are today.
Stefan and Matt founded the company in 2006 primarily as a Web and Mobile Application implementation company. Before starting 303 Software, Stefan got his start as a C++ developer working for a corporate strategic consulting firm laden with processes and structure. Matt came from a publishing background, working in the San Francisco Bay Area for companies with innovative mindsets and unique cultures. When they came together, they decided to start a company that would take all of the successful parts of the corporate world and integrate them with a company culture that fostered unique and creative talent.
Deciding to set up shop in the outdoor playground of Colorado, Stefan and Matt found that Colorado is home to a number of transplants. When starting 303 Software, they wanted to build a company that reflected the welcoming, open-minded, and diverse nature of Colorado, allowing each person at the company to be unique and creative rather than strictly fitting a mold.
Working with a number of different clients primarily in the design and advertising space over the first few years, they soon gained a reputation for building pixel-perfect websites with solid architecture. At first it was primarily short-term projects, but after a few years they took on a couple of major clients that brought the more sustainable model of recurring business into the company. While this worked for a time, they realized that they weren’t focused on thinking strategically about where the company was going. As those projects ended or were diminished, Stefan and Matt realized that they were lopsided in how they took on clients. They lacked a clear set of core values, which limited their ability to grow.
In 2014, with the help of others they were able to build a set of key values for the company that they felt would allow them to build trust with the clients they worked with as well as allow the company as a whole to grow. These values are:
- We Take Ownership
- We Deliver Success
- We Solve Problems Together
- We Improve Continuously
- We Exhibit Grace Under Pressure
- We LOVE Colorado
Each of these core values represented the key components that comprised the reasons for 303 Software’s successful culture over the years. They have since become the foundation for 303 Software’s strategic growth plans. For everyone at 303 Software, these key values make up what it means to be trusted advisors in the ever-evolving world of technology. They enable 303 Software to ensure they are providing quality to their clients.
For Stefan and Matt, the next milestone in the life of 303 Software is to take what they’ve learned in the past and continue to grow the revenue of the company by building stronger strategic partnerships with new and existing clients.
As embodied by the mentality of the typical Coloradan, they believe that through open minds, shared dialogue, and limitless opportunity, anything is possible.
