Light bulbs often flick on during the darkest times. The light bulb behind Turning Technologies went on after 9/11.
At the time, Mike Broderick was working at a firm that provided businesses with audience response software used in settings like annual meetings. When the Twin Towers fell, U.S. companies immediately canceled events that depended on travel.
"Our business went away for the rest of the year," says Broderick, now Turning Technologies' chief executive officer. "We saw it as an opportunity. We said 'if we sat down with a blank sheet of paper and applied the technology to universities, schools, corporate learning environments, how would we do it?'"
The Youngstown-based firm seems to have done it right. In 2007 -- just five years after Turning Technologies opened its doors -- Inc. Magazine ranked it the fasted-growing, privately held software firm in the country and the 18th fastest over all, with respect to revenues.
Key has been the company's flagship product, TurningPoint, which integrates natively into Microsoft PowerPoint.
"With this technology, everybody in the audience is forced to be engaged," Broderick explains. "Responses are anonymous to others in the class, but the instructor is able to know who responded and how well the entire class understands the material. It can also be used for homework and to reduce paperwork."
Turning Technologies products are now found in 1,800 major colleges and universities and 15,000 to 20,000 K-12 buildings, Broderick says.
While the firm is no longer growing at its previous pace, Broderick expects to add a modest number of jobs this year to his current 150-employee base and to enjoy double-digit revenue growth "for the foreseeable future."
Source: Mike Broderick, Turning Technologies
Writer: Gene Monteith