Anyone searching for an indicator of Minnesota's strong tech growth should take a good look at St. Cloud-based
W3i.
The company has not only tripled growth for its mobile monetization business within the past year, but it's also nearly doubled its employee numbers, and there's no stopping the momentum now.
To keep pace, the company will be opening an office in the Grain Exchange building in Minneapolis, and has recently added space to its headquarters as well. Another office just opened up in San Francisco, too, to attract developers and potential employees in that technology hub.
"We're excited about everything that's happening, and the surge in revenue we've seen," says Rob Weber, who co-founded W3i with his brothers, Ryan and Aaron, in 2000. "With the growth in mobile technologies and apps, we're in a hot category, with a platform that's creating a lot of value. It's hard not to be excited when you're in that position."
The company helps app developers and publishers make a profit from their apps, through a monetization and distribution system. Services include user acquisition, media buying, and marketing solutions.
Particularly well received is the W3i Games Platform, which provides a hosted virtual goods management system. The platform allows developers to add, modify, or delete inventory items and manage their currency online.
With all the momentum, W3i is likely to keep its current, robust pace, Weber believes. There are 20 open positions in every functional area of the company, and he anticipates that the business side of W3i will get built out as much as the development side. He says, "All areas are growing here, and we're just doing our best to keep up."
Source: Rob Weber, W3i
Writer: Elizabeth Millard