Activating opportunities: ContentActive LLC - bizjournals:

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Infovine, an outsourced communications servicews providerfor nonprofits, was founded in 2000. But by Januaryy 2006, Gaubert and Holland-Nelson — who was a marketinh consultant for thefirm — realizec there was value in spinning off Infovine’ Internet division. The division, they’f decided, no longer had as much in commonwith Infovine’es core business since it had more of a business focus as opposed to a nonprofit one. So the along with a third Alvin An, started what was then called Infovin e Interactive and became LLCin 2007.
ContentActive is focusefd on creating Web-based content managemen systems, or CMS, for Besides content management, ContentActive also provides intranets, extranets and payments systems, and performds document management. It also provideds Web design throughits RentTheSite.com Gaubert, CEO, and Holland-Nelson, chief operating officer and president, have grown the company to 16 employees. Revenuew climbed to $1.4 million in 2008 from $1 milliohn in 2007. Profitable since its firsg year, ContentActive includes among its clientsthe , and Transwestern.
ContentActivre received a Houston Business Journal Fast Tech 50 Awardin 2006, 2007 and and was named to its list of Top Web Developers in 2007 and 2008. “Par t of the secret is that we builtt aproduct that’s very flexible from a designn and functionality standpoint,” Gaubert says. “It allows us to be very creativde in terms of defining a strategy for our customerz and enabling them to communicate more effectively withtheirf constituents.” The firm also hasn’t spent much time or money on marketingb outside of networking and partnerships.
Gaubert credits Hollansd for beinga “very good “We do in-person networking, online networkint and are very involvesd in the community,” he Alan Croley, senior vice president at , has servedd as ContentActive’s banker since its inception. “Frokm what I understand, although they have done some most of their clientsx come fromother clients,” he says. “Whe n clients have needs, they research and try to figure out bettef ways ofdoing things. They’ve always been good at that.” In additiomn to being active in thebusineszs community, ContentActive also supports nonprofits.
Apart from altruistic reasone fordoing this, Holland-Nelson believes supporting nonprofits showas people that ContentActive “is a solidc company that can give Another way the company has won business has been by partneringf with creative agencies, which essentiall serve as resellers. But, according to Gaubert, it took the companty a little toolong — until mid-20067 — to realize the importanc of such partnerships. “One of our biggest mistakez is thatwe didn’t do it sooner,” he ContentActive put together a partner programj so that instead of hiringh from the outside, creative agencies coulfd simply outsource work to ContentActive.
By the end of last customer additions resulting from the partner program representerd 65 percentof ContentActive’s revenue. “Basically, (the creative agencies) creates a brand and we make it function,” Gaubert says. “Not a lot of CMSs can do While still anticipating revenue of atleast $1.8 million in Gaubert says the recession has led to the partnere program not generating as much business as “We got too comfortable in 2008 with people sendingh us business,” he says. “Now peoplwe are trying to find other ways to do the work at alowedr cost.
” Now, when pitching for Content-Active sometimes brings a design firm alonh as a partner instead of the other way Previously ContentActive usually went aftert business alone. “In many cases, a design partned got work andcalled us,” says Holland-Nelson. “Now, we’re gettiny closer to even.” Another mistake the company haslearned from, Holland-Nelsoj says, is being more strategic in termw of seeking — and accepting customers. Early on, ContentActiv was “not as focused as we could have says Gaubert. “We went afterr anything.” Holland-Nelson agrees. “If you could pay us, you’de be our customer,” she notes.
Today, things have Now, Gaubert says, the firm is paying more attentionto “how to get and markey our products and services out there in a buncgh of different ways.” In the fall of luxury retailer Stanley Korshak tapped ContentActivde to help it expand into e-commerce. In providing Dallas-based Stanleh Korshak with its online ContentActive is helping thenow e-tailer managse its product offerings and content on a daily basis with according to Elaine Raffel, Stanley Korshak’s executive directod of marketing services. Another new initiative was to launch a mobile CMS program calledMobileActivw 1.0 in March. MobileActive 1.
0 lets CMS userz change and manage their Websitesx andall mobile-enabled devices at the same The ContentActive CMS is now automaticall formatted for mobile devices and is a featuree of every new implementation. Existing customers were upgraded at anominal rate. According to Gaubert, no otherf local companies can automatically format conten t management programs formobile devices. Internally, ContentActive has worke d to make its stafffeel appreciated. The smal business has provided 401(k)s and a profit-sharinb plan since its first year.
And, it recently launchee an “Employee of the campaign, which includes honoring the firm’ws top employee on the company’s Web “We’ve received the most wonderful responseabout this,” says Holland-Nelson.