LeanDog has taken lean practices well beyond the manufacturing realm, where techniques like Kaizen originally made their mark. Today, the Cleveland firm, which helps organizations in virtually every industry take waste out of their IT operations, has hit its stride, growing sales more than 1000 percent since 2007 and landing at 311 on Inc.’s annual list of America’s 500 Fastest Growing Companies.
CEO and founder John Stahl says what his firm of 36 employees does is promote “culture change.”
“We teach them (clients) how to fish,” he says, “by helping them build a lean and agile culture.”
The fishing analogy seems appropriate, given that LeanDog is housed on a boat in downtown Cleveland -- right next to a mothballed WWII submarine (the U.S.S. Cod).
Stahl and co-founder Jeff Morgan learned about agile software development after years of serving a variety of IT organizations, Stahl says. Helping organizations streamline their operations has spurred happy customers to increasingly seek software development services from LeanDog, contributing to revenues that Inc. reported at $2.5 million last year, up from $214,801 in 2007.
Stahl says LeanDog’s hallmarks are “extreme transparency and a personal brand,” noting that his firm does no advertising.
Meanwhile, Stahl says the company is helping fuel the Cleveland startup scene by hosting
Startup Weekend and
Cleveland GiveCamp, in which IT professionals develop software for charities during a 72-hour period.
The company has plans to expand its Columbus operations in the near future -- it currently has eight employees there -- as well as possibly adding offices in Pittsburgh and Salt Lake city.
Stahl says his company is hiring, with 20 to 30 open spots currently.
Source: John Stahl, LeanDog
Writer: Gene Monteith