Ann Arbor software company continues growth despite tech industry slowdown

The tech industry has seen a general slowdown nationwide in recent months, but last year Ann Arbor software company InfoReady added its 200th customer, increased its headcount by 25%, and achieved 30% growth in annual recurring revenue.

What's more, InfoReady is continuing to hire. The company provides software for colleges and universities, medical centers, government agencies, and other organizations to manage internal grants, competitions, and approval processes. 

"It’s really a platform for decision-making," says Bhushan Kulkarni, InfoReady's founder and CEO.
 
Kulkarni attributes the company’s growth to the central role it plays for clients. 

"It’s the technology that essentially runs their businesses," he says. 

Despite the tech slowdown, Kulkarni says, "research universities still have to continue to bring in research dollars and make sure their organizations are driving [new research]."
 
He says universities also "have to make sure that the right students are admitted," and that those students "have all the support that they need to keep them engaged [in] undergraduate research, graduate research, scholarships, fellowships, study abroad programs, and all that."
 
Kulkarni says that InfoReady’s success can also be attributed to the collaborative relationships it maintains with clients, which include Oregon State University and Brown University’s Advance-Clinical and Translational Research.  
 
"When we started creating product, we didn't want to just drink our own Kool-Aid, so to speak," Kulkarni says. "We configured it, refined it, and implemented it in collaboration with our user community and clients."
 
"It's all about keeping your eyes and ears open and making sure you understand what the market is telling you as opposed to what you think the market needs," Kulkarni adds. "That mind shift really helps build a solid foundation that one can grow on."

Natalia Holtzman is a freelance writer based in Ann Arbor. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, and others.

Photo courtesy of InfoReady.