ITA Member Interview: Geckotech

Member Q&A: Chicago-Based Geckotech

This week, ITA launches a new component to the ITA Industry Weekly, the “Company Spotlight.“ Each week a new local company will be featured in this column as we showcase the various facets of technology in Illinois. Josh Robbins, a managing partner at Geckotech in Chicago, sat down with the ITA to discuss the corporate pain his firm addresses along with the state of the IT and telecom industries.

Name: Josh Robbins
Title: Managing Partner
Company: Geckotech LLC
Headquarters: Chicago
Industry: Outsourced IP phone systems, VoIP, Telecom

ITA: In about 10 words, what pain does Geckotech solve?
Josh Robbins: Business owners turn to Geckotech to avoid buying or maintaining a phone system and the phone lines connected to it.

ITA: How does Geckotech differentiate from its competitors?
JR: Reliable technology: Geckotech spent the first full year of its business building a solid network and voice platform before hiring any salespeople. It is simply more important for our customers to receive high-quality voice and data service than it is for us to acquire new customers.

High touch customer service: Geckotech believes all calls should be answered by a live, local technician within 30 seconds or less. That’s why our customer service staff consists of in-house, full-time employees who are familiar with the system they are supporting. We handle all support calls with full-time staff and will never send calls to offshore call centers.

ITA: How does Geckotech make money?
JR: We are an outsourced IP phone system provider, which means we replace phone systems that are traditionally located in a closet with a hosted (or outsourced) solution using Cisco IP phones. Without equipment in the closet, businesses have nothing to maintain, upgrade, program or fix and they don’t need to purchase phone lines from the local phone company. Geckotech charges monthly fees on a per-phone basis to cover the use of the phone system, T-1 Internet access, management and unlimited local and long-distance calling.

ITA: How does Geckotech leverage the ITA? What are your thoughts in general related to the Illinois IT community?
JR: The ITA puts local technology business owners together and encourages communication and innovation. The Illinois IT community is able to share ideas and ultimately put Chicago on the map as a key contributor to innovation in technology. I leverage the ITA to assist in gaining recognition in the local market against the large, public companies with deep pockets we compete against.

ITA: What are the biggest challenges facing Illinois-based IT companies?
JR: Illinois IT companies have to compete for press coverage against Silicon Valley companies and are generally at a disadvantage. Businesses in Illinois are also less likely to take perceived risks by implementing new technology. The biggest challenge has been selling new technology in a fairly conservative market.

ITA: How has Geckotech evolved over the last five years?
JR: On the bleeding edge of technology, Geckotech has grown steadily since inception in June 2003 as a managed service provider for a commercial office building in the West Loop (previously the marchFIRST global HQ) by providing bundled voice and data services to tenants. A VoIP platform was launched in August 2004 to address the needs of Geckotech’s growing customer base throughout Chicago and the country. We grew from zero to more than 20 million total minutes and almost 2,000 phones in service since the VoIP launch. Geckotech currently employs 10 people in its West Loop office in Chicago. In the last year, Geckotech grew revenues more than 350 percent, doubled its employee headcount, grew its Chicago customer base more than 250 percent and achieved profitability. Geckotech is on track to do more than $2.5 million in revenues in 2006 and is planning to quadruple the business within the next 24 months.

ITA: Is Geckotech venture backed or seeking external funding?
JR: Geckotech is privately owned and would consider external funding to grow the business through hiring sales and support staff.

ITA: Please talk about your experience prior to founding Geckotech.
JR: Prior to founding Geckotech in 2003, I owned and operated Gecko Websystems, which was a Web site design, hosting and development firm. My career includes positions as a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a Web site developer at Chicago-based Lante Corporation and a sales engineer at Nortel Networks. I have served as a forensic consultant in computer-related court cases and am a published author of three technology books. I earned a bachelor’s in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles.

ITA: How do you allocate your time between running a company and everything else you do?
JR: Allocating time to do all the things that interest me has always been important to me. I try my best to prioritize and focus on completing everything I start. Being a computer geek at heart, I find it will show up on my BlackBerry and get done if I schedule something in Outlook. I schedule personal time, exercise and business events and always make sure I’m sufficiently busy to keep myself challenged.

ITA: What do you do when you’re not working or attending to industry matters?
JR: Outside of Geckotech, I enjoy vacationing in tropical places, playing tennis and I’m not ashamed to call myself a golf addict. My favorite course is the port course at Harborside International.