My company, ActiveConversion has again been nominated for the Deloitte Fast 50 Tech Company-to-Watch category. This category is for companies that are less than 5 years old, and that exhibit strong revenue growth over the period measured. As you can guess, Deloitte doesn’t risk their reputation without some due diligence, so back in May we were interviewed by the local office, and had to provide financial information.

This nomination is special to us because it measures real revenue versus a publication’s subjective ‘Best xxxxx Product’ award. Real revenue, besides being real dollars which you can take to the bank, is the purest form of proof for a company. Customers will only pay (and continue to pay in a monthly subscription model like ours), if there is real value delivered. They don’t care who you are, how smart you are, or how connected you are - they pay only if you deliver something that makes their business and their lives better and easier, and is a good value.

By the way, in case you don’t what ActiveConversion does, let me give you a quick overview:

ActiveConversion is the technology leader in total marketing measurement (TMM) and demand generation for SMBs. We help companies manage marketing ROI on multiple marketing campaigns and know which leads are sales-ready. Our product automates lead nurturing, scoring and demand generation so that you can do more marketing with fewer resources.

In other words, our product will generate leads and nurture them automatically. Ready ones go the sales team, and less qualified ones will stay in the funnel for ripening until they are ready. It also measure your campaigns so that you know which ones have the best ROI. It is low cost and very easy to use, so we’ve had great success getting it adopted.

The next version is being tested as we speak. If you’re interested in saving marketing costs, and getting more sales, go to the website and request a demo!

I’ve been busier than usual lately, and not on vacation as you might have thought. Things have started to take-off with ActiveConversion, and I’ve been handling some things like interviews, reviews, financing, hiring and other things that come along with getting some traction.

One of the good/bad things about being in a high-tech startup, is that the days (and nights) go by fast. Generally it’s good, especially when it revolves around customers, because I much prefer that to sitting around wondering why we don’t have customers. It’s bad in that, strategic thinking gets stalled, and when you’re the chief, it means nobody else is really doing it and that can be really bad in the longer term.

In fact, without strategic thinking, it’s rather difficult to get to the ‘good busy’ time. I have found with startups (not just mine), that a lot of time can be spent spinning your wheels. Running real fast and not getting anywhere. I suppose it has to do with ALL the variables that go into making a product, finding a market, and penetrating that market. A lot of things don’t go to plan and it reminds me of an old acronym called SNAFU - Situation Normal, All F***ed Up. Most startups have this at one time or another, and its how they adapt, that separates the winners from the un-winners in my opinion.

Having said that, I’ve recently been asked to sit on a board to help nominate companies for celebrate tech startup successes in Calgary. I can’t say who, because none of this has been announced as of yet, but it’s part of the reason for my headline. I’m thrilled and humbled, because the companies that will be honored are world-class successes. This is a first as far as I know, and it adds to momentum that Calgary and Alberta has been building in the tech industry lately. There will more on this in the fall.