Two years after selling his Salesforce consulting firm 7Summits to tech giant IBM and a year after leaving the firm as CEO, tech entrepreneur Paul Stillmank is announcing the launch of his latest startup, 7Rivers Inc.
7Rivers is a tech-based consulting firm that focuses on using data technologies, including artificial intelligence, to boost a company's productivity and competitiveness. 7Rivers is partnering with cloud data firm Snowflake Inc. to tap that firm's global data network. Snowflake was founded in Bozeman, Montana, but now describes itself as a globally distributed enterprise with more than 30 offices worldwide, including Silicon Valley and New York City, with no official headquarters.
Milwaukee-based 7Rivers was founded to help businesses understand and embrace the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning by harnessing the power of their data. The startup is backed by $3.5 million in funding and expects to achieve profitability within 18 months, according to a press release announcing 7Rivers' launch.
"7Rivers is inspired by nature and how data is so analogous to water," said Stillmank, 7Rivers founder and CEO, in the release. "Water is essential to life, and data has become essential to the life of businesses. Like rivers, data flows inside and outside of companies. Rivers have confluences; data confluences present the opportunity for very powerful business outcomes. The constant movement and motion of water as it shapes our surroundings over time is a parallel to how data is transforming today's business landscape – it's what influenced the mantra 'where data flows, business grows'.''
Stillmank founded his prior venture, 7Summits, in 2009. The firm, which connects customers, partners and employees online through customized community experiences built on the Salesforce platform, has been a Milwaukee Business Journal Fastest Growing Firms and Best Places to Work winner over the years. Stillmank sold the company in 2021 to IBM for an undisclosed amount and 7Summits continues to operate from Milwaukee as a wholly owned subsidiary of Armonk, New York-based IBM. According to Stillmank's LinkedIn profile, he departed as 7Summits' CEO in April of 2022.
Using Snowflake's Data Cloud services, 7Rivers works with company management to identify the parts of a business that will benefit most from technologies like AI and machine learning. The company cites the example of a manufacturing company using AI to analyze production data, optimize supply chain efficiency, predict equipment maintenance needs and tailor production runs to ultimately reduce costs and maximize output.
"The augmented enterprise is arriving," Stillmank said in the release. "Our founding members are thought leaders at building high-performing teams in emerging technology spaces where early adoption can dramatically benefit the companies that we work with."
