A local tech company is settling into new digs from which it can continue its mission of improving global web accessibility.
Early this year, User1st, based in Tel Aviv and D.C., had the option to expand its workspace on 12th Street NW near Metro Center. Its executives looked at other spaces for due diligence, not thinking they would move, but found a fully furnished office in a building on Ninth Street NW that VP Shawn Pike said was too good of a deal to turn down.
In the last couple years, the company has grown from 18 staffers to 43 between both headquarters. Most of that growth bolstered its local sales and marketing operations, and it now has 20 employees in the District. User1st has space to grow into in 2019, Pike said, but as it continues adding employees it has the option to take over a full floor.
Founded in 2012, User1st signs on with enterprises and government agencies beholden to disability compliance, developing and upgrading websites and apps that fall under the ADA and other guidelines. Those requirements are driven from D.C., Pike said, so many companies in the area are involved with the government and have some understanding of web accessibility needs. He said the area is full of young developer talent as well, making it easy for the company to add to its ranks.
The firm’s growing headcount has complimented its U.S. client list, which has quadrupled in number in the last two years. It works with large, government-tangential organizations like Fannie Mae, but also smaller groups like New York wineries and small credit unions.
User1st also partners with a swath of educational institutions, including the College of Southern Maryland and Anne Arundel Community College. Other notable customers include IKEA, Hertz and Eagle Bank.
Though the accessibility it provides is regulated by federal and state governments, most of User1st’s clients remain in the private sector.
“Folks in the commercial space don’t have as good of an idea of the approach to web accessibility, which is part of it,” Pike said. “The other part is that we haven’t truly focused on [government clients] as much as you’d think we would. When we’re focused on commercial projects, we’re able to innovate a lot faster and bring it to the government space.”
Moving forward, User1st plans to launch a new version of its remediation tech and cloud services at the end of April. It’s also improving its testing product, which allows developers to test sites and apps for accessibility.
“If you’re a good developer, you write secure and scalable code,” Pike said. “We want to add accessible code to that list. Our upcoming product launches allow the developer community to do that, so as far as innovation goes, it’s up there.”
