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APEX – Sitation, an Apex-based company, was recently named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing U.S. companies and is ranked 379th.
The company now employs more than 35 people, and plans to hire about 15 more by the end of the year, according to founder and president Steve Engelbrecht.
It didn’t happen overnight.
Engelbrecht graduated into the bursting of the technology bubble in 2001 but found work starting in early September.
But then came 9/11.
Following 9/11, said Engelbrecht, a third of the company was laid off. As someone who’d imagined starting a business in the future, the layoff accelerated the plan, and Engelbrecht launched the company in October of that same year.
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“We provide consulting services around digital transformation and content strategy, PIM implementation partners for some of the most popular and powerful platforms on the market today, and our own software offerings which help to fill in the gaps around data modeling, data migration, and analytics,” Engelbrecht told WRAL TechWire in an interview.
The company’s clients: anyone who sells products online. That’s because online sellers still must manage product information, which can become complex, quickly. So the company’s software addresses these issues that arise from more complex online retailers.
The onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, changed how many online-first retailers sold products in some way. For some, new products were added to the catalog. For others, demand skyrocketed as more people turned to purchase products online.
“At first it was terrifying, and reminded me a lot of the uncertainly post 9/11,” said Engelbrecht. “We had several projects delayed or canceled, and we started thinking seriously about what it would take to survive if things got really ugly.”
By June, though, the company saw a channel shift, said Engelbrecht. “Everyone realized that this was the new reality.”
Ecommerce activity increased, and the company was well-positioned, said Engelbrecht. “By the end of 2020, we had doubled our revenue and nearly tripled our headcount.”
Path to growth was 20 years long
Engelbrecht, back in 2001, started the company largely to build web applications, then found a more niche opportunity in ecommerce, especially within the travel industry, he said. After earning an MBA, he began to work with large firms, and independently as a management consultant, where he engaged with retail brands. That’s when he realized that PIM was an area of potential opportunity, said Engelbrecht, “where I could really make a difference.”
In February 2019, he hired four full-time employees. By the end of the year, he’d hired 10.
Now, the company has been named to the Inc. 5000 list, with a three-year growth rate of 1,274%.
“I think it’s a combination of a willingness on my part to really put Sitation out there and take on the challenge and risk of building a larger business, plus some major contributing market factors, like the channel shift toward ecommerce as a result of the pandemic,” said Engelbrecht. “We are pushing hard to establish ourselves as the go-to implementation and strategy company for a very specific niche within the ecommerce world, product information management (PIM), and the market has responded well.”
Those who operate in the world of ecommerce often use a phrase, said Engelbrecht, “your data is your product.”
“What we mean by that is that until a customer has that product in their hands, all they have to go by is your content and presentation,” he said. “It’s critical, but surprisingly, still undervalued by many organizations.”
Done properly, PIM benefits all participants along a company’s value chain, he notes.
“Customers are very savvy, they know what they want, and they know they have options,” said Engelbrecht. “If there are obstacles to them finding and purchasing the products they want, you’ll lose them. This is a very smart area to invest as it lets our clients move faster and create competitive advantage.”
Product data does contain significant nuance, said Engelbrecht. It’s software that helps simplify and systematize the entire process, and thereby, online retail businesses.
“We’re on track to double our revenues again this year, and just as importantly, we’re getting good at being a bigger company with investments in processes and controls, like outstanding project management and margin discipline,” said Engelbrecht.
