Tech Startups Like QuarkWorks Continue To Grow In Mid-Missouri
Tech startups in Missouri are on the rise as job creation in these industries continues to increase. Since 2014, Missouri tech startups have created 7,549 jobs and this movement seems to only be strengthening according to a 2018 report conducted by MOSourceLink.
In Columbia Missouri, this news seems to be especially true. Filled with both old and new tech companies, Columbia appears to be a growing location for Missouri tech startups. Included in these startups is QuarkWorks, founded in Columbia in 2010.
QuarkWorks is a software company that works to help organizations ship products faster, scale their teams, and grow their businesses. To do this, QuarkWorks brings company’s products to mobile users through apps. Whether you want to build something from scratch, port your app from iOS to Android (or vice versa) or accelerate your velocity, QuarkWorks is there to help.
The tech startup has grown immensely over the years. Currently, QuarkWorks has 23 team members, 123 million monthly active users, 1.1 million app reviews with an average of 4.5 stars, and 145 million app downloads. They are committed to quality projects, creating close knit partnerships and collaborations, and minimizing mistakes.
QuarkWorks Marketing Lead, Hannah Pratte, says that, "We're mainly involved in consulting right now. Whatever client we notice has a problem or an issue, we come in and try to solve that." This could mean something like building a mobile app for an organization that only has a website.
The list of clients QuarkWorks has had the opportunity to work with is quite impressive. Some companies that have made their portfolio include Gametime, Saint Haven, Eventbrite, and Handshake.
According to an article from the Columbia Missourian, “Jim Gann, director of MU’s Venture Mentoring Service, said Columbia’s tech startup industry expanded when Bill Turpin, MU interim associate vice chancellor for economic development and president of the Missouri Innovation Center, came to town in 2014. ‘On his initiative, the Missouri Innovation Center raised a fund to help finance those IT-based companies with early stage capital.’”
Today, the Missouri Innovation Center supports many businesses to help them grow in the mid-Missouri area. In 2016, they launched the Mid-MO Tech Accelerator program to support local tech startups with investments, business services and mentoring.
"I think an important story about tech entrepreneurship that is lost sometimes is that Columbia performs actually pretty good on a per-capita basis nationwide," Gann said, "I think sometimes people might think that these kinds of things only happen in Silicon Valley or in Boston, and in truth, it happens here."