Chapter 16: Keep Your Blade Sharp

Jeff P. Van Dyke

Define (and Redefine) Success

From the time I founded VanDyke Software, I have measured our success by asking the questions, "Are we better off today than we were a year ago? Is the company more real today than it was a year ago?" The definition of success has really been about building a company that would last. For the first year I was running the business out of a house I was renting by myself. After about one year I had one employee and a small office. To me that was success! We had more of a business after one year than when we started. After three years we had a bigger office, nine employees, and three products. Each year we've been able to look back and say, "This business is more 'real.' This business is more substantial than it was a year ago."

Each year we've added employees, increased office space, launched new products, improved infrastructure, and added benefits. One of my initial goals was to provide our employees with the same level of benefits they would receive at most technology firms - from a 401(k) to paid health care - the same basic benefits you would expect to receive in Silicon Valley. Here in Albuquerque, this is quite unusual. For people who have put down roots in New Mexico, this makes VanDyke a very attractive prospective employer, because it is above the norm. It's equally important that this benefits policy allows us to attract those bright individuals that might otherwise leave Albuquerque for other parts of the country.

Some of my measures of success are very old-fashioned. We are committed to annual financial growth, but we are also deeply committed to sustained profitability. Over the long term, as the past couple of years have shown, you need a business plan that has a clear path to profitability. VanDyke Software has been profitable every year. We've done this by growing slowly, organically, and with purpose. As part of this growth we've taken hiring very seriously. We value our employees and work hard to keep them. I'm proud that in the entire history of the company, only a handful of employees have moved on, and for reasons other than dissatisfaction with working at VanDyke.

One of the most enjoyable sources of feedback on our success comes from our customers. Most of our employees have an opportunity to engage our customers every day. Whether we're closing a sale because our product does what the customer needs, or we're receiving feedback about how our technical support exceeds expectations, the feedback we receive from our customers is an ongoing and gratifying measure of our success.