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IT Firm building a business by meeting the software needs of Fortune 100 firms, an Ivy League university

Steve Nickerson has a simple method for nailing information technology contracts with Fortune 100 companies.

He just calls them.

"I call people and I talk to them," says the 33-year-old Saint John IT firm owner, with a laugh.

"I'm really easy to deal with and I've got quality people. I'm very straightforward and they like dealing with me. It's not overly complicated."

Since starting his firm, RapidMind Solutions Inc., last year Nickerson has landed work with large firms including some that make household name goods as well as with an Ivy League university.

RapidMind stands as an interesting example of a successful New Brunswick IT firm that's developed a business around bringing projects back to the province. The firm is an exporter of homegrown expertise.

Perhaps one of RapidMind's most interesting projects is one it's working on for a top American university.

"We're working with one of the top Ivy League universities in the United States right now," he said. "We're basically doing a Facebook-type application for their billionaire alumni, which is pretty cool."

Nickerson said software he's building will help the university connect with potential wealthy donors, an important source of funding for the school.

It also has benefits for the alumni, he said.

"They can connect with their old classmates. They can make business connections which can increase the value of their firms."

Another project, for a Fortune 100 company, tracks a product's development from the research stage to the consumer household, including all of the steps it has to go through and levels of approval.

"Right now it's incredibility tedious and difficult using their current application to pull that off," he said. "We built an application that's a little faster, that's a little bit easier to use and it has a standard look and feel. Because it's a Microsoft platform, since we're doing it with SharePoint, it integrates with their existing Office applications."

Nickerson said he decided to start his own firm after working for an automotive software maker in the Port City.

"I felt there was a better way to build software and there was a better way to treat employees," he said. "We didn't get a lot of respect for the time and effort we put in. I wanted to start my own company where I wouldn't make the same mistake."

Nickerson said in addition to developing software solutions around Microsoft's SharePoint technology, his team also does consultant work. Other programmers or firms can hire several members of the RapidMind team to work with their staff in developing projects.

Nickerson said he'd like to grow his company significantly and is looking at hiring another three staffers in the near term.

But hiring staff has been a bit of a challenge.

"One of the problem's I've run into is that I'm trying to hire someone who is an immigrant, he's from Bangladesh but he's been in Canada and he's received his degree from here," said Nickerson.

But getting approval from the federal government has been a slow and frustrating process.

"They waited five months and then said no because I missed a form. But according to their website, I didn't need it," he said.

"It's been a five month process to try and get him approval to come work here and I have a huge shortage of guys. It's very difficult for me to find talented people. I finally find one, and I can't hire him."