With a central koi pond, free lunches for employees (yes, there is such a thing, apparently), and ample space in its new world headquarters,
Infinite Campus might seem like a dreamy visit back to the dot-com boom days.
But the Blaine-based company is looking toward the future instead. More specifically, the firm focuses on creating cutting-edge technology for the education market, and it's being rewarded with an increasing number of contracts.
Recently,
Jersey City Public Schools,
Chandler Unified School District, and others chose Infinite Campus for better data management capability. Infinite Campus is also keeping ahead of technology, by releasing a mobile portal that will be the first of many mobile learning tools.
The company had its start in 1996, when a principal at
Centennial High School in Circle Pines challenged his son-in-law, Charlie Kratsch, to do something meaningful for humanity. Working out of the Centennial band room, Kratsch drew on his experience with web-based medical systems to create technology that could help K-12 school districts become more streamlined, cost-efficient, and productive.
"Most of our competitors work to give districts what they want," says Karl Beach, the company's evangelist and interim marketing manager. "They gather requirements, and build the tools from there. We're different, because we build what they need. That puts them ahead on the invention curve, and it may be assertive, but it also works."
Infinite Campus has about 300 employees in its headquarters, but is doing steady hiring to fill out its space and advance its technology. The company is expanding into tools for school finance and HR departments, and plans to focus on more mobile technology as well.
"As we keep moving forward, growth is inevitable," says Beach.
Source: Karl Beach, Infinite Campus
Writer: Elizabeth Millard