Darcie Lunsford, Real Estate Editor
South Florida Business Journal

It was one of the nation’s fastest-growing company’s on Inc. magazine’s annual list in August and was recognized again a few months later by the South Florida Business Journal for being among South Florida’s 25 fastest-growing technology companies.

So, it shouldn’t be too shocking to learn that 3Cinteractive is now planning to more than double its office space in Boca Raton.

The mobile platform provider has inked a 10-year lease for 25,287 square feet — the entire fourth floor — of Boca Colonnade II, at 750 Park of Commerce Boulevard.

The 99,048-square-foot building opened in 2008 and has achieved gold certification in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program.

And, with the 3Cinteractive deal, the building, developed by Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY), is nearing full occupancy, according to Liberty’s Randy Johnson. Jeff Kelly of CB Richard Ellis represented 3Cinteractive.

3Cinteractive CEO John Duffy said that the firm continues to grow and hire high-level software engineering talent.

Last year, 3Cinteractive added 29 employees to its payroll and plans to do the same or a bit more hiring this year, Duffy said.

And, with just under 10,000 square feet at its current location on nearby Congress Avenue, Duffy says “we are busting a little bit at the seams.”

He is even sharing his office.

The firm needs to grow its engineering ranks, as well as add finance staffers and sales representatives.

It hopes to have the inside of its new digs built out by June.

But, don’t expect gray carpet and beige cubicles.

This corporate headquarters facility has a theme: urban playground.

“A key building material will be chain-link fence,” Duffy said.

The firm current’s office is similarly funky, with handmade furniture and a “great cultural feel,” Duffy said.

He said that creating a unique office atmosphere is necessary to compete and keep the high level of tech talent it takes to run and grow its mobile platform offerings.

“The type of people that we want to attract to this business are generally not looking for this kind of opportunity in South Florida,” Duffy said. “They are more likely to be in New York City or Silicon Valley.”

Duffy also said he was motivated to cut his new headquarters lease now to take advantage of the soft office market.

          
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This is the fourth installment of a series of weekly blog posts written by Jenny Walsh, intern and office mate of John Duffy, 3Cinteractive’s Founder and CEO . This series takes a look at the inner workings of 3Ci and mobile marketing from a fresh perspective.

The 3Ci semi-annual bowling night took place last week. It was a blast, partly because I easily beat everyone at bowling. Yes, Mike FitzGibbon, I’m talking to you. It was also fun to relax and really get to know people from the office. I met some of the engineers from Uruguay and Spain that were in town, and was able to pick their brains about what to expect from engineering school. I finally had someone on my side about selecting engineering as a career, but they did warn me it is not an easy road. I was able to talk to people I don’t really see a lot during the day and get their advice as I head off to college. Advice ranged from when not to schedule my classes (Friday mornings) to what courses helped them the most in their careers. I loved all the advice and hearing about everyone’s college experiences — some crazier then others.

Besides sharpening our bowling skills I asked Duff what, as a company, was the thinking behind doing something like a bowling night. Duff said it was about enjoying the ride and the importance of culture in a company. He said it was vital to have people that like each other and work together because the quickest way to fail is having a lack of teamwork where egos get in way of the ultimate goal. Jeff Michaud chimed in and said, “It’s about the name on the front of the jersey, not the back.” I really understand what he means after getting to see the 3Ci team at work. It’s easy to understand why the great culture here is a major component of what makes 3Ci successful and also why Duff would be so interested in protecting that and ensuring it continues.

This is the third in a series of weekly blog posts written by Jenny Walsh, intern and office mate of 3Cinteractive’s Founder and CEO John Duffy. This series takes a look at the inner workings of 3Ci and mobile marketing from a fresh perspective.

Yesterday, I saw Duff looking at a huge chart on his desktop filled with numbers that peaked my curiosity. At first I was afraid to ask, but Duff always stresses the importance of asking him questions, so I did. His response became “Duff’s Lesson of the Week” – the importance of being accountable to a budget.

Duff had me pull my chair up to his desk, and then gave me an overview of the entire 2010 3Ci budget. It’s funny how I learned so much more from one real life situation than in an entire semester of economics. Duff spent an hour explaining the budget sheet, expenses, revenue, and EBITDA - that’s Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (Don’t worry; I never knew what all of those words meant either until Duff explained them to me).

That might sound boring, but surprisingly, it was incredibly interesting. I have a newfound appreciation for how hard it is to make and manage a budget. Duff also explained the importance of having good customers. All the hard work that went into getting customers like Tracfone, JM Family, and Walgreens, and how those respected brands play a role landing new clients. Might sound cliché, but I’m seeing the lessons that are always preached put into work at 3Ci. If you have a good product, work hard, work together, and believe in your team you have a better chance of being successful. I know success is never a sure thing, but it’s all about putting your company in the best position to succeed. That was lesson #2 for the week. The best thing about this internship is that everyday I’m exposed to something new and interesting that I want to learn more about – and even better, that I have Duff, the guy running this place, who’s way too busy for an intern like myself, explaining it all to me.

As I close in on less than a month before heading off to college, I’m getting more excited to start that new adventure of life; but I’m also sad to leave all my new friends and mentors at 3Ci. I have grown to love this place, and am starting to think it is normal. I no longer find it weird when Duff talks to himself or constantly plays with his poker chips. I now feel like the day hasn’t really started until I hear Vinnie’s, “What’s up, Duff?” every morning, or have Jeff walk in my (I mean Duff’s) office to talk trash about how Michigan will beat Notre Dame, which is clearly delusional. GO IRISH!

This is the second in a series of weekly blog posts written by Jenny Walsh, intern and office mate of 3Cinteractive’s Founder and CEO John Duffy. This series takes a look at the inner workings of 3Ci and mobile marketing from a fresh perspective.

As I finish up my second week as Duff’s shadow, he is teaching me the importance of having people who want to learn from each other (or being “coachable” as Duff says), and how it is a big part of gaining success. The people at 3Ci always want to learn from each other. They know everyone’s strengths and experiences, and use them to further their own knowledge. The people here really do want each other to succeed, and I think that has transferred over to me. When I walk in every morning I just feel like everyone want to share his or her experiences with me and really does care about my growth throughout this internship. It is contagious because it makes me want to learn more with every meeting I sit in and every conversation I am able to be a part of.

One of the big concepts Duff is teaching me is what makes up a good sales pitch. I know from the two weeks that I have been here that Duff sits through many sales pitches and gives many sales pitches, and from what I have seen he is pretty good at it. So Duff decided to give me a few key points on what he thinks makes up a good sales pitch.

• First and foremost, be on time. DO NOT be the person everyone is waiting for.
• Set an agenda for the call or meeting to keep you on track and your perspective customer engaged.
• Always be prepared for the call or meeting. Test out all of your demos and PowerPoints before hand because it is really embarrassing if a technology company’s technology doesn’t work.
• If you make a PowerPoint, just put key topics on the slides and explain it yourself. Do not put as many words as you can on a slide and just read them.
• Research the customer you are pitching and make every aspect of the pitch relevant to them.
• Role play with your team before the pitch. It makes you look much more professional and prepared.
• Don’t talk too much or oversell your product at the end of the pitch.

I feel like the skills I am learning here are tools that I will use through my entire career, whatever field it may be in. I now understand why my dad raves about this place, and why everyone involved think it is to good to be true at first. Chris Howard, a close family friend, told me that this internship will ruin me for every other job I will ever have because I will never find another office with the kind of culture and people 3Ci has, and I will never find another CEO as totally awesome as Duff. I know the amazing opportunity that I have been given this summer and cannot wait to see what is to come in week three.

This is the first in a series of weekly blog posts written by Jenny Walsh, intern and office mate of 3Cinteractive’s Founder and CEO John Duffy. This series takes a look at the inner workings of 3Ci and mobile marketing from a fresh perspective.

I am the new summer intern here at 3Cinteractive. I just graduated from Westminster Academy and can’t wait to start my freshman year and football season at Notre Dame this fall. I was able to get involved with 3Ci through my dad, “the Dude” Dave Walsh, who is a partner and advisor to the company. I have the great opportunity to observe, learn from, and laugh at 3Ci’s CEO, Mr. Duffy, or Duff as people around the office call him. Duff decided that he was going to put my desk in his office so I could learn from the best. I am hoping he doesn’t regret that decision by the end of the summer. His goal is to teach me how a business is run and grown, and convince me to become a business major instead of my planned major, chemical engineering. I am so excited for all the new experiences and people I will get to know this summer.

As I finish off my first week as an intern, or as I like to call it Duff’s shadow, I have begun to understand what exactly 3Ci does, and why they are so different from other technology companies. On my second day Duff gave me a presentation on what 3Ci does for their customers. For someone who does not know a whole lot about the mobile world yet, besides how to use the cell phone in my pocket, it was exciting to be able to understand the basic process of how companies like ESPN are able to send a message to my phone and millions of others.

Duff does a great job answering all of my questions in a way that I understand and never makes me feel like all ten thousand of them are a burden. I was so intimidated starting here because I am right out of high school; while everyone here is so experienced at what they do. But the people at 3Ci have made me feel so welcome. They invite me to sit in on meetings, always answer my questions, and even feel comfortable enough to make fun of me for being a nerd.

The incredible teamwork here shocked me. For some reason I had this perception everyone would hate their boss and nobody would like his or her co-workers. I guess I have watched to many TV shows about working in an office, but I was definitely wrong about that. The way everyone enjoys being around each other is awesome. I have learned in just one week how finding a great group of people that love working together really does effect the way a business grows. 3Ci is a fun place and a great new experience for me. I learn something new and meet someone new everyday. Just yesterday I met John Sculley and got to listen to his words of wisdom to Duff. He is the former CEO of Pepsi® and Apple®. Did you know he had the idea for the Pepsi Challenge? All in all the first week has been a blast. Stay tuned as I will be posting a weekly update and see how the rest of my summer goes…

One of the most exciting aspects of our business is seeing the development of our people and the organization. We’ve had the fortune of witnessing this business grow from “just an idea and a business plan” to a “well-oiled machine” that is now built for scalability. The only reason we’ve been fortunate enough to experience such incredible growth is because our business has great people.

Over the last few years one of those great people, our Creative Director, Jeff Michaud, along with his team, has built a brand and an identity for our company within the industry. As our brand and our solutions continue to grow, Jeff has done an amazing job keeping the communication, message, and materials consistent with our identity and accomplishments. Jeff and his team have also put the framework in place for a scalable and effective corporate communications strategy that continues to give us tremendous marketing publicity. The creative services part of our marketing unit has helped us to win and retain key clients thanks in part to the outstanding work that Jeff and his group have done and continue to do.

Please help us in congratulating Jeff Michaud as he takes on his role here as Vice President of Marketing and Creative. Congratulations, Jeff!

Despite the difficult economic recession that started in late 2007, 3Cinteractive continued its growth track through 2008 and has been ranked third on the South Florida Business Journal’s (SFBJ) Fastest Growing Tech Companies list. The third place ranking followed up a first place ranking a year ago.

“Ranking so high on this list for the second straight year is a testament to our team’s focus and determination, “said 3Ci President Mike FitzGibbon. “Our technology platform provides businesses with a more efficient, less expensive way to reach their consumers. Our business tends to thrive in these types of economic conditions.”

The SFBJ list is compiled every year using both public documents and surveys completed by private companies.