Two decades ago, Vidya Ravichandran founded GlowTouch Technologies.
As a new mother and a first time founder, she didn't have big ambitions to scale it into a global company. Rather, she simply wanted flexibility the corporate world couldn't offer and the ability to keep up with emerging technologies.
Now, eight locations and 2,500 employees later, the technology services company is gearing up for rapid growth in its 20th year with expansions in Louisville and elsewhere.
In an interview last week, Ravichandran told me that what might appear to be overnight growth actually started back in 2017, when she decided to deepen the company's executive team. Shortly thereafter, GlowTouch began implementing a strategic plan to offer a unique selling proposition to its clients rather than trying to be "everything to everyone."
Then, when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020, its tech and product support services went from being an option to a necessity.
"One of the first indicators that we saw of what was going to be the rest of the pandemic growth was: We have a company that does online webinars, similar to Zoom, they have webinar platforms and do webinar training and within the first two weeks of the pandemic, they asked us to quadruple the team that we had for them — that was crazy," Ravichandran said. "We said, 'OK, we need to gear up because everything is going online.'"
All of GlowTouch's clients have seen significant growth during Covid-19, she continued, and as a result, the Louisville-based company has seen its fair share of growth, too. Ravichandran said GlowTouch grew revenues by 50% and 60% in 2020 and 2021, respectively. She declined to disclose revenue figures.
In Louisville alone, its total employee count has jumped from 20 to 175 in just five years, and Ravichandran anticipates the company could "easily" add another 200 staffers to that local total by the end of the year.
"I've lived in this area for 25 years, so I feel committed to bringing growth to our area," she said. "Just even being able to create these jobs here, it's personally been very fulfilling."
Due to the increasing staff, GlowTouch moved from its former HQ in St. Matthews last year to a new facility on Corporate Campus Drive. Initially, the company leased a 12,000-square-foot space, but it has since added an additional 4,500 square feet and it's looking to add a third, 8,500-square-foot space that has recently opened up in the building, Ravichandran said, in an effort to make room for new hires.
"We can't hire people fast enough," she said. "The growth is coming pretty rapidly, and that is one of the reasons we're expanding into other markets in the U.S.
"You don't want to hit a saturation point at any one geography — you want to be able to access talent in different areas. We're going to the larger hubs where the talent pool is more abundant."
In addition to its offices in Louisville and South Florida, GlowTouch will add an office in San Antonio, Texas this year.
It also has its sights set on one to three more global locations in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. GlowTouch's current international footprint includes three offices in India, one in the Dominican Republic and one in the Philippines.
With expanding geographies, GlowTouch's total employee count will increase to at least 3,000 in 2022, Ravichandran said.
"We're a 20-year-old overnight success — that's always how it works," she said. "You've got to put in the years before things really start to accelerate.
"There are more shortcuts in private equity- and venture-backed companies, but when you're a services company that's owner-operated, there are not a lot of shortcuts. And that's OK... I've loved every second of it."
