3Cinteractive Makes Mobile Profitable
Software company aids mobile commerce for Disney, ESPN, Walgreens and others
Daniel Vasquez, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 24, 2010
Mobile companies are among the most successful A-list industries in the U.S. these days and nobody knows that better than John Duffy, the CEO and founder who turned South Florida software company 3Cinteractive into one of the nation’s hottest companies.
Since opening its doors in Delray Beach in 2005, the company has signed up former Miami Dolphins superstar Dan Marino as a consultant, and former CEO of Pepsi Co. and Apple, John Scully, as a board director.
Other signs of red-carpet success? This year, 3Cinteractive expanded to 75 from 54 employees, moved to bigger offices in Boca Raton and was ranked 28th among Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing companies, second among the list’s software companies and first in companies in any industry in the Miami-area market.
3Cinteractive develops and manages mobile platforms for a long list of major companies, including Disney, ESPN, TracFone, AT&T and Cox Media. 3Cinteractive specializes in using mobile and Internet networks to connect clients to their customers globally to conduct mobile commerce, marketing and transactions. In other words, 3Cinteractive makes sure when someone visits and interacts with TracFone and a Consolidated Credit mobile site via a mobile device — no matter the manufacturer of the device or the cell phone carrier being used — the experience is the same for each visitor, much like it would be for anyone visiting those sites on a computer. That’s true whether the visitor uses a PC or Mac, or Sprint or Verizon service.
“Our business model is to use technology as a toll booth that connects my clients to their consumers,” Duffy said. “We manage mobile transactions, whether made with phone calls, text messages, payments on a credit card or phone billing payments.”
Duffy restores guitars and motorcycles as a hobby and counts among his collection a guitar given to Marino by Hollywood actor — not to mention former lead guitarist for South Florida-based rock band The Kids — Johnny Depp. Duffy got his hands on it after donating money to one of Marino’s many charity drives. Another point of pride is his 17-year marriage to wife Michelle, and their family of two daughters, Emily, 15, Annie, 9.
The full-time dad and part-time restorer takes on equally tough challenges on the job, positioning his company to be among the leaders in mobile-based business.
“We help provide the same sort of ease for commerce as you would get on the Internet, but on mobile platforms,” Duffy said. “We make sure your experience on the ESPN mobile site is the same no matter what device or network you’re on.”
Accomplishing that has been good for business, Duffy says. His company recorded $232,439 in revenue in 2006, the year after it opened. Last year it earned more than $16 million dollars. The company expects close to $40 million in revenue for 2010.
Making success sweeter is the fact that the company has been financed without the help of bank loans. “I capitalized the company for the first two years and we raised money through friends and family,” Duffy said. “And thankfully we have been profitable.”
He credits the company’s success to three tricks of the trade. “We chose an explosive market. Mobile is one of the fastest growing industries in this country and we are the leader in our space.”
Duffy says the company is also careful with capital but pays as much attention to hiring productive employees and trying to keep them happy. His advice to entrepreneurs:
- Think through your business plan;
- Expect changes in the market — they will happen; and
- Be financially prepared to hang on during hard times.
“We have done what we’ve done during one of the hardest economies in our life,” Duffy said. “What happens when things get better?”
Copyright © 2011, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Do you think you have what it takes? Know someone who does? Find the job and location below that best matches your experience or theirs and send a resume to us at careers@3cinteractive.com. Be sure to include the position title in the subject and in the body of the email.
Senior Product / Program Manager
Think you have what it takes? Or do you know someone who does? Find the job below that best matches your experience or theirs and send a resume to us via email at rrhh.uy@3cinteractive.com. Be sure to include the position title in the subject and in the body of the email. These position are based at our development office located in Uruguay.
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