News Room
Making It Happen. Making the News.
February 5, 2001
Woman´s business plugged in to success
BY ED TAYLOR
TRIBUNE
A fledgling Internet services company has joined the ranks of the fastest-growing women-owned business in the Valley, clicking its way to $700,000 in revenue last year and a projected $2.5 million this year based on contracts already signed.
I-ology Inc. was established in 1998 by Patricia "Trish" Bear, an eight-year veteran of the Internet business who previously managed the $2 million commercial services division of Frontier Global Center in Phoenix, a provider of commercial Web site hosting, design and development. Bear, a 1994 graduate of the Arizona State University College of Business, decided to set up her own consulting and services firm after Frontier Global went public.
Bear, 32, hopes to grow her company to $10 million in revenue in five years and has completely self-funded her venture. She has no plans to raise venture capital or sell stock.
"We´re just expanding smart, using subcontractors when needed, and bring people on when the revenue is there," she said.
Bear said her business has been profitable for two years, though she declined to disclose earnings figures.
I-ology is mostly a virtual company with its 10 employees working out of their homes. But Bear plans to move into a permanent office, probably in downtown Phoenix, to start creating a company culture
"We´re looking for a loft, a creative studio, something retro like you would see in the New York," she said. "We´re melding technology with creativity. That´s the type of culture we´re going for, not a stodgy corporate culture."
Among the services provided by I-ology are Web site design and development, online marketing, overall Internet strategy, e-mail services for commercial customers and Web hosting services through a co-location server center in downtown Phoenix.
I-ology had the fastest revenue growth among woman-owned business in the Valley in 1999, according to the Phoenix Business Journal and ranked 13th among the top 25 Web design firms in the 2000 Phoenix Business Journal Book of Lists. It was also 45th on the list of the top 50 women-owned businesses in the state.
Among its clients are Copper Square Downtown Phoenix, Desert Troon Companies and the Tempe Convention and Visitors Bureau. Among the Web sites the company has developed are www.coppersquare.com, warplanes.com and designdm.com on the Internet.