CEO Soapbox: The Future Of Technology And The Latest Gadgets

Editor's Note: The city of Creve Coeur is home to companies of all shapes and sizes. This is the third in a Patch series to talk to the people who run them. We ask CEOs and local business owners about the issues and current events facing their company, the local business climate and other topics. If you have a suggestion for this series, please let us know.


Before Tom Ruwitch founded MarketVolt over 10 years ago, he started another Internet company called SportsHuddle.com. And before that, he was a reporter and online editor which included a stint at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Patch sat down with Ruwitch to find out how technology is changing how businesses do business.

Q: What does MarketVolt do?

Ruwitch: We help businesses gain and retain clients using email and other interactive technology. We do it in a way that minimizes the hassle and maximizes the efficiency because for so many businesses the business of using technology should be comfortable, easy and a help.  Often small businesses, especially, don’t have the resources and find it to be a hurdle and a hindrance that interferes with them running their businesses. We want to help businesses grow.

Getting to this idea of putting the right information in front of the right people and having conversations with people who consider what you’re saying pertinent to their interests, we’ve designed our technology to automate the process of segmenting your list and targeting follow-ups.

Q: How many people are employed by MarketVolt?

Ruwitch: Eight people. We have software engineers, sales and marketing, and customer support people.

Q: What external factors make the biggest impact on your business?

Ruwitch: When there are challenges in the economy, we find it’s easier to have conversations with clients and prospects because they’re looking for that edge and we’re all about providing them that edge.

When it comes to technology, there’s always a lot of buzz and businesses are naturally attracted to the latest shiny object. We coach our clients to not just chase the latest shiny object but to think methodically and plan carefully about how to build return on investment.

Q: With changes in technology how do you adapt your business model?

Ruwitch: Our model already is flexible so it’s constantly evolving. We believe that email is here for the long run. It’s not a fad. We work with our clients around the technologies of mobile and social media. Building the email technology and providing that to our clients is part of our business. Providing consulting services and helping them form their broader marketing plans, how to use email most effectively and how to use interactive technology most effectively is part of what we do as well. So we can act as consultants to our clients as well as a software vendor.

Q: What brought your business to Creve Coeur?

Ruwitch: There are a few reasons why we’re here in Creve Coeur. Number one, MarketVolt has strong relationships with other businesses in this area. We like to be near our clients and we have a lot of clients in or around this area; it’s a good central location. But we also like Creve Coeur because it’s very central for where our employees live; it’s convenient.

Q: What’s the business climate been like in Creve Coeur?

Ruwitch: It’s been good. Businesses have come and gone. We’ve seen a bit of that as we’d see anywhere. But the location for us, for the people who come to visit us, is a place that’s comfortable and professional for clients and prospects. It’s very easy for people to get here, to find us, they know the area.

Q: How is MarketVolt weathering the economic climate?

Ruwitch: We’re growing. MarketVolt has grown every year since it was established 10 years ago. The rate of growth has fluctuated but it’s grown every year. We’ve weathered the storm well and what we believe and what we preach to our clients and prospects is that businesses tend to hunker down when the economy gets bad but even in a tough economy if you get out there and face it, there’s always some opportunity somewhere. We’ve pushed hard through the recession and will continue to push hard if there’s a double-dip recession. The story that we have to tell we think is a compelling one.

Q: What is your hiring forecast for the next 12 months?

Ruwitch: We intend to add more people.

Q: Is having a technical company that’s located in the Midwest instead of the coasts a barrier to entry?

Ruwitch: No. We want to build relationships one business at a time; build success stories one business at a time. I think especially in the Midwest, especially the St. Louis area and even as we connect with businesses outside of the region, they appreciate the idea that we strike a balance between being big enough to deliver but we’re small enough to make good on the promise of caring about our clients and having relationships with them.

Q: Could you speak about the technical community here?

Ruwitch: During the original dot com boom 1998—2000 there was a great deal of technology start-up activity in St. Louis, and nationwide of course. There was a lot of capital flowing into technology deals in the St. Louis area. I think it is still happening but it’s quieter. I think there are still a lot of very interesting technology companies here in town. Creve Coeur has some great advantages with Microsoft being around the corner. There are some good technology anchors in the Creve Coeur/Maryland Heights area.  I don’t think we’ve returned to the level of activity we saw in the original dot com boom.

Q: What do you see in the future for technology?

Ruwitch: Moving forward what’s most interesting to me is that there’s a convergence of a lot of the hardware.and the technologies that interact. The line between your television and your computer, and your mobile phone and your computer and your television is all getting a little more hazy. I can watch television on my iPhone; I can download and watch movies on my computer screen. All of these technologies are getting more and more interactive. As soon as you watch a movie you can review it and interact with other people who’ve watched it.

Q: What is the last high-tech gadget you purchased for your own use?

Ruwitch: I just bought Apple TV.

Q: What is your favorite gadget?

Ruwitch: I bought Sonos® from in Creve Coeur.

Q: Outside of work, what are your favorite activities?

Ruwitch: Being a dad and husband. I love the outdoors and do a lot of hiking and paddling/kayaking. I go listen to music as much as I can.

Q: With what charitable organizations are you involved?

Ruwitch: I’m very active in charities in fact I co-wrote a book that has to do with charity and philanthropy called Generation Big. Aim High St. Louis is one that I’ve been very active in for many years. I’m also on the board of Hope Happens which is funding research to find treatments and cures for neurological disorders like ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It was started by the family of Chris Hobler who was a high school classmate of mine who died of ALS in his mid-thirties.