2019 Tech Impact Awards, Tech Services/Consulting: Point B Inc.

This article appears in print in the October 2019 issue. See more about the winners of the 2019 Tech Impact Awards here. Click here for a free subscription.

Point B Inc.
Location: Seattle

Revenue at Point B inc. shot up 21% this past year. The price of shares in the companys employee ownership plan skyrocketed 45%.

The management consulting company, which is 100% employee-owned, has been on a hiring spree and will employ more than 1,000 people by the end of 2019.

Seattle is one of 13 cities in which the firm maintains an office. Other cities include Portland, Oregon; Dallas; Denver; Chicago; and New York. Point Bs Seattle practice director, Chris Martin, says the company is increasing its talent pool toward tech skills, and also is investing in research and development around emerging technologies, including automation, data insights and artificial intelligence as clients increasingly grapple with new challenges.

We continue to see our customers face unprecedented levels of disruption and transformation, and were tackling even bigger, more complex challenges, Martin says. The company, which was founded in 1995, already offers a full suite of technology tools, and is experiencing rapid growth in business intelligence, analytics and tech transformation.

Silver Awards

GenUI
Location: Seattle

GenUI is a software-engineering company offering a range of product-development services across multiple platforms. The company describes itself as mission-driven and focused on building products with a positive social, scientific and technological impact. Among its larger social-driven projects is an effort to develop a data-driven platform focused on the U.S. population and government finances, called USA Facts. GenUI also sponsors an internship program that trains high-talent software programmers from El Salvador to help build that nations tech sector. GenUI focuses on its growth, too. Revenues have jumped from $3.9 million in 2017 to a projected $11 million this year.

Simplicity Consulting
Location: Kirkland

Simplicity Consulting provides marketing, communications and business consulting services through a team of 200 employees 70% of whom are women and an extended network of thousands of experts vetted online and through in-person screening. It has worked with companies like Microsoft, Alaska Airlines, T-Mobile, Nordstrom and Amazon. Launched in 2006, Simplicity today is a $34 million business with zero outside investment, founder and Chief Executive Officer Lisa Hufford says. The company has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies five years in a row. Huffords leadership also earned her recognition as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Woman.