November 18, 1999

Ten Fast Facts

Tidemark WHO: A privately held computer software company founded in 1984 by Andrew Ruotsala. WHAT: Offers products to help local governments automate public services and communicate electronically. WHERE: Downtown Seattle

Fast Fact #1: Tidemark recently launched a subsidiary that puts government services online.

Comment: Dubbed gov-online.com, the subsidiary extends Tidemark's original client-server software to the Internet. Programs cover everything from paying traffic fines to buying pet licenses to submitting permit applications all online. But wait. There's more. gov-online.com can also host the services on its computers a key selling point for smaller jurisdictions with limited resources.

Tidemark CEO Bruce Dahl.

Comment: The 100 biggest cities in the country can test drive one of gov-online's most powerful programs. Community Connections enables constituents and public officials to contact each other via the Internet. Plus it can sort and analyze the nature of citizen comments, be they complaints about potholes in the street or pooches loose in the park. There's a value for the city knowing just what the hell's going on, says Tidemark CEO Bruce Dahl.

Fast Fact #3: The company's founder is a former King County employee.

Comment: Ruotsala worked in the permit section of the Building and Land Development Department. Having witnessed the need for greater automation, he went into business for himself, helping agencies create client-server systems to process permits and handle other procedures more efficiently. For most of Tidemark's history, the company designed custom solutions for each jurisdiction, but it now features standardized products, says Dahl.

Fast Fact #4: Tidemark targets state and local governments exclusively.

Comment: Dahl laughed when asked apparently for the umpteenth time if the company had considered tweaking its technology for use in the private sector. See Fast Fact #5.

Fast Fact 5#: Tidemark estimates the public sector market for its products both client-server and Internet at $1 billion a year.

Comment: With current annual revenues under $10 million, Tidemark has plenty of room to grow without dabbling in new markets. You've got to stay focused, says Dahl.

Fast Fact #6: Dahl says gov-online.com is the only company in its market that marries software development and hosted services.

Comment: That makes the company uniquely attractive to numerous mid-size jurisdictions that have only dipped their toe in the Internet pond. By offering to host services and not just provide the software, gov-online allows municipalities to plunge deeper into cyberspace without needing new equipment. Dahl says there is a huge pent-up demand. As people realize this is a large market, other people are going to get in it, he says. There isn't an 800-pound gorilla right now, although we certainly expect there will be at some point.

Fast Fact #7: Dahl is from South Africa.

Comment: He's also worked in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong all for high-tech companies. Dahl and his wife, a U.S. citizen, moved to Seattle more than three years ago confident they could both find good jobs in the Silicon Forest. They did. Tidemark hired Dahl to lead the company's transition to off-the-shelf sales and the Internet. His wife, Connie Wong, is director of business development at Tegic Communications, which produces cell-phone software.

Fast Fact #8: Tidemark soon will seek a second round of funding.

Comment: After receiving $2 million in 1998, the company is about to seek $5 million more. The cash is needed to give gov-online a strong start, says Dahl. Right now, the company has three major shareholders Routsala, his ex-wife and Britannia Holdings Limited.

Fast Fact 9#: The company's 80-plus customers stretch from Canada to California including 10 cities in the Silicon Valley.

Comments: Burned by delays processing building permits, several high-tech companies threatened to move their operations out of the Silicon Valley. In response, the cities formed the Smart Permit Project and asked Tidemark to help them streamline and standardize permit processing throughout the region.

Fast Fact 10#: IPO fever hasn't hit Tidemark yet.

Comment: Dahl says Tidemark's dive into the Internet is a pivotal move. If gov-online generates as much excitement as most dot coms, acquisition by a larger company or a public stock offering seems inevitable. I don't know which one is going to be the most appealing, says Dahl.

Previous columns:

• Ten Fast Facts, 11-11-1999
• Ten Fast Facts, 10-28-1999