Ike Kavas, who took the top post last week at the Laguna Hills software company he co-founded seven years ago, has laid out an aggressive strategy to ramp up Ephesoft Inc.
“My immediate priorities are to organize the company for scale and let the marketing engine kick in,” he told the Business Journal. “We feel like we’re at an inflection point. Our technology is solid, and we continue to innovate.”
Its cloud-based content capture and analytics software is used in more than 35 countries by some 550 customers in the financial services, federal government, insurance, mortgage and healthcare sectors. It helps businesses classify, sort and extract data through digital document capture.
Sales doubled last year to about $15 million, a year after the company was named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Kavas projects revenue to grow another 70% this year to an estimated $25 million.
“We’ve been doing a good job because we really provide a good value for our customers,” said the Turkey native, who came to Southern California a few months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with only $100 in his pocket.
He borrowed $1,000 from his father to start the business, which he said has been profitable for years.
The quiet company has sped along with little to no marketing, lining up investors and customers primarily through referrals. About 75% of business is generated in the U.S.
Kavas’ ascension to chief executive is a bit contrarian, since most founders of technology companies take the top post at onset, before giving way to a corporate executive or someone recommended after a venture capital investment.
“We’ve been very different from the beginning,” he said. “I never wanted to be CEO just for the title of it.”
That’s why he hired Don Field, who’s held the top post since 2011. The 35-year veteran in the document-capture segment, who spent more than 21 years at Kofax managing various divisions, is retiring.
Irvine-based Kofax was sold in July to Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo, its third sale in as many years, this one projected to be in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion.
Kavas had two stints at Kofax before co-founding Ephesoft, which has grown to 120 employees in about 15 offices in the U.S., two in Europe, and a development team in India. It doubled global employment in the last two years.
That number is projected to grow as it seeks senior java developers, data scientists and analytics experts. It’s also on the hunt to fill two senior executive positions: chief financial officer and head of marketing.
“We have some hiring to do,” Kavas said, “to take us to the next level and the level after that.”
The Business Journal in July reported the company raised $15 million in a series A round from sole investor Mercato Partners, which is headquartered outside Salt Lake City.
The company planned to use the funding for product development on its two main offerings, as well as to boost sales and marketing.
Hyped on Hoops
The gaming unit of Fountain Valley-based Kingston Technology Inc. has signed its second NBA sponsorship in less than two months.
HyperX is now the gaming headset partner of the Dallas Mavericks and its future NBA 2K League esports team, another first for the local unit. The NBA will establish the esports league early next year. It will include an NBA 2K draft, where gaming pros will be chosen to compete for select cities in the popular “NBA 2K18” video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports.
The game is played on PS4 and Xbox One.
The agreement includes in-game activities, including digital signage, promotions and concourse activities.
“HyperX brings an abundance of experience in the gaming community and will be a valuable partner both on and off the court during esports tournaments and events,” Mark Cuban, who owns the Mavericks and Dallas’ NBA 2K league team, said in a statement.
The partnership tipped off this month at American Airlines Center for a Star Wars Day event that coincided with the Los Angeles Clippers taking on the Mavericks. NBA fans at the game had the opportunity to test HyperX gear and play “NBA 2K18” or “Battlefront II” games while using HyperX gaming headsets.
The unit was named the official headset partner of the Philadelphia 76ers in mid-October.
The deals boost HyperX’ growing position in the booming esports segment. Kingston’s roster of “marketing influencers” now includes more than 30 organizations and 90 teams.
The HyperX gaming unit is a key driver for parent Kingston, the world’s largest memory products maker for computers and consumer electronics, with estimated 2016 revenue of $6.6 billion.
Sky’s the Limit
Add Shenzhen, China-based Huawei Technology Co. Ltd. to the list of Skyworks Solutions Inc.’s largest customers.
The conglomerate, which manufactures smartphones, wearables, communication networks and cloud computing products, among others, accounted for 10% of the chipmaker’s record sales in the 12 months through September of $3.7 billion, according to its annual report.
Huawei, which posts annual sales of about $75 billion, joins Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group as the only customers that account for more than 10% of annual sales.
The trio accounted for 53% of Skyworks’ fiscal year sales.
Chief Executive Liam Griffin runs the chipmaker from its Irvine office.
