Q & A with John Dufy, Co-founder and CEO of 3Cinteractive
by Boardroom Brief Staff on July 11, 2011
1. You are co-founder and CEO of 3Cinteractive (3Ci), a Boca Raton based company which builds cloud-based mobile software platforms, designs solutions and deploys strategies that help businesses communicate with consumers on their mobile devices. As cell phones continue to revolutionize the way we do business today, how important is it for retailers to implement mobile commerce (mcommerce) when marketing their products? Can you compare the growth of mcommerce to that of ecommerce as we look ahead?
I think the impact of mobile communications on businesses of all types will be much more significant than what we have experienced in the past with the desk top internet. Today’s mobile devices have so many capabilities. They can make phone calls, send messages, surf the internet, run applications, and make payments… and we take our phones with us everywhere!
2. You are a ‘serial’ entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in a range of industries. You launched 3Cinteractive in 2005 just in time for the economy to collapse, which couldn’t have been easy for even the most seasoned businessman. Yet, by 2010, 3Ci was ranked 28th on Inc. magazine’s list of 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the United States; the South Florida Business Journal named you the winner of the 2008 Technology Company of the Year Award, Fastest Growing Technology Company in South Florida and 2010 Business of the Year award. Documenting a staggering three year revenue growth of over 6,843% from 2006 to 2009, how did your company gain momentum when the world was falling apart?
I have had my share of entrepreneurial experience, and one of the things I believe is that a fast growing market, like mobile, can help overcome a lot of problems. When we started 3Ci, we were also entirely self financed, so troubles in the financial markets were not really a factor for us. When I look at our customer list today, I am very proud that we do business with some of the best companies in the world. I think a reason for this is that during tough times, great companies find a way to innovate and use the downturn to separate themselves from their competition. Since our services are closer to the leading edge of technology, it seems reasonable to me to think that the economic downturn may have actually helped us attract great customers faster. Another answer is that we’re super smart and had it figured out the whole time!
3. 3Ci has provided mobile applications work for national companies including Walgreens, AutoNation, AT & T and ESPN. In an effort to demonstrate what your technology and services can do for a business, can you briefly describe an example of a mobile solution you have executed for one of these companies and how the application increased efficiency and revenue?
If you’re a fan, you know ESPN is the best place to go for sports news and content. And if you play in fantasy football leagues, you want news and statistics on your players INSTANTLY. We help ESPN deliver that content to your phone, regardless of the network or phone you’re using.
4. Recognizing the technology behind your signature mobile platform known as ‘Switchblade’ is highly complex, can you share some of the key features this powerful technology provides companies and their customers?
We believe that better and faster communication is fundamentally good for business. Our Switchblade services allow our clients to connect to any phone, on any network in the world. The communication can be a web page, a text message, or a phone call. Mobile is different from the internet because there aren’t the same standards. With the internet, the connection is open, and is the same no matter how you use it or where you are. It’s not the same with mobile where the carrier owns the network. Switchblade gives our clients one place to connect to reach everyone.
5. 3Ci currently occupies approximately 10,000 square feet of office space in Boca Raton with 89 employees. You recently announced plans to expand by signing a 10-year lease in West Palm Beach for approximately 26,000 square feet and plan to add several hundred more employees over the next three years. In a tough economic environment you are creating jobs, providing opportunities and helping drive the economy. As a visionary, what do you see is the next homerun opportunity for our mobile economy?
We’ve been in our new office for 2 weeks and it’s been great. And thankfully, we expect to keep growing and intend to add many new jobs. In our industry, the most significant growth segment is mobile payments. Some of the most powerful companies in the world are working to turn your mobile phone into a personal payment device, and I suspect they will figure this out very soon. For me personally, I am most focused on the release of HTML5, which is essentially a new type of browser that will allow users to run apps directly from the internet. We’re betting this will be very important part of overall mobile phone usage in the not so distant future.
6. Although often cited as saying you enjoy taking all the credit for your employee’s hard work, the South Florida Business Journal recognized you as a 2011 Ultimate CEO for Palm Beach and named 3Ci as one of The Best Places to Work. What makes your management style unique and successful as the CEO of a growing company?
It’s true, taking credit for the team’s work is one of my favorite things! A lot of managers talk about focusing on their people and creating a good corporate culture, but I haven’t met many that take it as seriously as we do. We are lucky enough to be able to choose who we work with, and this includes partners, employees, customers, and vendors, and we’re very careful to make sure we choose correctly. We don’t have to be best friends with everyone we work with, but we do require that people treat each other fairly and respectfully. If we can continue to maintain our culture, serve our customers well, and not take ourselves to seriously as we grow, I think everything will turn out alright.
About John Duffy
John Duffy is a serial entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in communications and payment processing. As founder and CEO of 3Cinteractive, Duffy is responsible for setting corporate strategy, driving revenue and helping to maintain the company’s key relationships with customers and vendors.
Under Duffy’s leadership, 3Ci ranked 28th on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in the U.S., with three-year revenue growth of 6,844%. 3Ci was also recognized as the Business of the Year, Fastest Growing Technology Company and one of the Best Places to Work in South Florida by the South Florida Business Journal. The South Florida Business Journal recently recognized Duffy as a 2011 Palm Beach Ultimate CEO.
Duffy began his career as an account executive at MCI. Prior to founding 3Ci, Duffy built several successful companies in a broad section of industries including Internet Billing Company, one of the first Internet-based payment processing companies, which sold to Intercept in 2001, a publicly traded company in Atlanta, for $100 million.
Duffy believes that giving back is at the heart of his success. He is very involved in several philanthropic organizations including the Dan Marino Foundation, Jason Taylor Foundation, Here’s Help and Jim Moran Foundation. Duffy is also a sought after speaker on topics ranging from mobile to entrepreneurship.
Duffy is a graduate of Ohio University where he was a wrestler. He lives in Delray Beach, Florida with his wife and two daughters.