Getting Back To Basics: Gearworks.com's Lauver Says Specialization Spells Succes

Keith Lauver, CEO at Minneapolis-based Gearworks.com, attributes his company's success to remaining "focused" on core business fundamentals. He says, with almost religious zeal, "We need to take care of our customers and our employees. And we need to recognize what we're good at. Everything else will take care of itself."

This Web integrator, which began life 15 years ago as a database developer, now designs, develops and delivers mobile B2B Web-based solutions in three markets: transportation, utilities and communications and the enterprise. Last year, the company pulled in an estimated $2 million in revenue and is expected to triple that amount, reaching nearly $6 million this year.

VARBusiness: How would you describe the current state of the solution provider market?
Lauver: Things are just incredibly competitive. There's been a real evolution of the type of services provided-compared to just one or two years ago. Many companies now have existing Web applications, so they're no longer just asking for a Web site to advertise a particular product as part of a marketing effort. Rather, they're looking for ways that the Internet can radically transform the way they do business.

VB: Does that mean that more specialized services are needed?
Lauver: For different organizations, [services] may be more complex. And complexity certainly requires more specialization. For certain projects, a generalist may be appropriate--if that project requires a little bit of marketing, a little bit of communication, and, say, a little bit of business process engineering. But there are actually fewer opportunities for the generalists out there. The types of opportunities where we're spending our time, for example, are those where it's a particular business problem that needs to be solved.

VB: Did you envision these changes a year ago?
Lauver: I don't think we can see the future better than anyone else. But we are anticipating, and have always anticipated, these types of changes.

VB: What do you foresee happening during the next 12 months?
Lauver: I think that we'll see two almost divergent trends. One is that of consolidation. And the other is that of specialization. I almost look at this in a Darwinian way. If a company isn't offering value, then it's going to go away. If a company isn't different--and it's really just offering a commodity-type service--then that company is probably going to consolidate with another firm to get the kind of scale that's required. But those organizations that are solving truly difficult business problems or that are delivering something that is truly different--those folks are going to continue to be specialists.

VB: In today's e-solution world, what does 'truly different' mean?
Lauver: In our market, for example, there are not a lot of companies that know how to build mobile applications, [especially] at an enterprise-class level. Anybody can go buy a book on this stuff. But picking up the programming language isn't what's difficult. It's recognizing all of the issues that are part of building an enterprise-class application in a mobile environment. While a programmer is a programmer is a programmer, understanding all the technical issues involved really requires a [defined] specialization. We are also different because we have targeted specific vertical markets for which we can provide services. We are one of just a few players in the country, for example, that specializes in providing mobile solutions for the transportation industry.

VB: What should providers do to prepare for future changes in the market?
Lauver: The best way to ensure long-term success is to stay anchored to the fundamentals. What is it that you do well? What can you continue to do well? In our case, our competency is really, at the base, innovation. We want to be really good at inventing things and applying new technologies in unique ways. We're focusing on mobilization as a competency, and we're also focusing on the vertical markets that we've targeted. Preparing for those changes also has to do with bringing in the right people. We're looking for people that don't just think outside the box-but [people who] can take that box apart and put together something entirely different. Also, we don't try to attract people by luring them with exorbitant salaries or stock options. If people come for money, they're going to leave for money.

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