By Nancy Dahlberg
Addigy provides cloud-based Apple Device Management solutions for IT teams in enterprise, education, and MSP environments. The Miami-based tech startup serves more than 3,000 customers in the rapidly growing Apple world, with Harvard, Goodwill, Citrix, Perry Ellis, the Cleveland Cavaliers and high-growth tech companies among them.
Jason Dettbarn, founder and CEO of Addigy, has been squarely focused on execution since he launched the fast-growing company in 2014. He bootstrapped Addigy until 2019, when he raised more than $9 million in venture capital to fuel “a major global expansion.”
In late 2019, Apple made software changes that made it harder for many of Addigy’s competitors. But not Addigy. “We are unique in that we built technology where we can manage all the apple computers and devices live and we patented that. It has changed the way people manage things. We will see that turning into a lot more capabilities for IT, security, and a better experience,” Dettbarn said. In 2019, the company grew 3X, Dettbarn said.
Addigy is also a very Miami story. Indeed, about half of its current and former employees are Florida International University students or alumni. Dettbarn himself is an FIU engineering alum.
Addigy employs 70 people, and has a second office in Minneapolis, where, if we weren’t in a pandemic, Cuban coffee would be always brewing. “Everyone starts in a customer support role so they can really understand our customers and our users,” Dettbarn said. He added that he’s proud of Addigy’s internship program, and a “majority of them are hired” afterward. And about a third of the team is female, including the company’s second full-time hire.
Nowadays, like a lot of companies navigating the global COVID-19 crisis, the Addigy team is working remotely. Dettbarn made that decision early – in early March – believing that the team’s safety is first and foremost,
Flexibility, patience and honest and open communication are ikey in these times, Dettbarn said. He encourages frontline manager to have personal check-ins with team members at least every other day. He doesn’t mind if employees work in the early morning and the evenings, taking the daytime hours to deal with family issues especially with kids home. Dettbarn also encourages employees to take time for a hike or bike ride, and the company also added more mental health benefits for its employees because “it’s not just now, they are going to be dealing with stresses as this pandemic runs its course.”
Dettbarn also said he realized the company was in a unique position to help. Addigy published a work from home checklist and playbook that helps their customers, such as schools and companies, to ease the transition and make the WFH shift, he said. The company is also offering free 60-day access for organizations shifting to virtual work from home policies, and organizations that are new to Addigy can take advantage of the full-featured platform.
“We want to do our part by putting our tool in their hands in a meaningful way. Additionally, we’re providing one-on-one onboarding at no cost, so those administering Addigy can do so confidently.” Dettbarn said. “We realize there is already a lot of stress for admins and end-users alike, and we’re here to help make that transition easier.”
Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter and email her at [email protected].
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