Last edited 2:50 p.m., Aug. 8, 2011Cousins Phil and Chris Reynolds were 20-something Missouri State University graduates in 2004 when they each invested $500 to launch a small Web design and software consulting firm.
Their investment seems to have paid off, as Intuitive Web solutions posted $2.4 million in 2010 revenues with projections to hit $3.2 million this year.
The cousins attribute the company’s growth to the niche it created by writing an agent quoting system for an insurance client and growing its users to 18 insurance clients by 2009. Now, IWS has a flagship policy administration system developed for property and casualty insurance companies, with 31 insurance clients in 16 states.
“The business grew up until now by word-of-mouth only,” said Chris Reynolds, president of business development. “We only spent our marketing budget to attend conferences.”
The company is ready to step up its outreach, however, and has increased its marketing budget by $100,000 this year to $145,000. The cousins also are increasing their downtown workspace, leasing an additional 1,500 square feet to the 6,000 square feet they lease on Olive Street from Craig Wagoner.
Phil Reynolds, who is president of products with IWS, said the company’s hiring practices also have contributed to the company’s growth.
“We have a strong belief that smart people can be trained, so we’ve hired people who maybe were in other careers and who were laid off and struggling,” he said.
Hires have included former architects, teachers and musicians who the Reynoldses felt had the aptitude and drive to be trained for the technology industry, and plans are to hire four more employees by the end of the year.
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