Dangermond started the Environmental Systems Research Institute in 1969, and the private company has generated a profit ever since. View Enlarged Image
Jack Dangermond wants to shape a better understanding of the world.
The multibillion-dollar industry he helped found around geographic information systems, or GIS, helps scientists and planners visualize and analyze data on maps.
With his firm's help, epidemiologists can see how disease spreads, disaster officials can predict storm damage, and civil engineers can tell how development will affect traffic.
Four decades back, multilayer computer mapping was mainly a novel project in college labs. He saw its possibilities and built a business, ESRI, that spurred GIS use around the world.
He did it by focusing on service to others. "It's been really important," said Allen Carroll, chief cartographer at National Geographic. "It can be kind of difficult to make people understand what GIS is and how important it has become in key parts of decision making and all kinds of scientific pursuits. One of the things I admire most about Jack is by making GIS such a commonly used tool, he has literally changed the world."
Making Money
Dangermond's endeavor started as a nonprofit institute. When it made more sense to turn the work into a regular business, he kept his service ideals.
"Someone once told me be interested, not interesting — that really clicked for me," Dangermond told IBD. He found that working with people on crucial matters was "a lot more success-focused" than just trying to address one's own needs.
Redlands, Calif.-based ESRI began with $1,100. It now has annual revenue of $1.2 billion from 300,000 customers, he says. The private firm has turned a profit for 40 years.
"We've never borrowed money," he said, conceding that this meant the company grew more slowly than it might have. "We had to be very, very, very conservative with money. ...It drove careful decision making. We were never at the (beck) of outside shareholders or banks. What that means is we could focus on our users and employees."
Dangermond, 63, goes against the grain on another front: He eschews incentives such as sales commissions. "People want to do the right thing; they want to be purposeful in their life," he said. "Throwing financial thresholds and goals — my experience in running at least my kind of organization is that it robs people of the culture of doing great things."
Growing up as the son of an immigrant plant-nursery owner in Redlands, he learned the value of building a business.
His father "only got a sixth-grade education, started as a gardener and realized that to get his kids through college he would have to start some kind of business," he said. "I learned ... the principles of never borrowing money, treating your employees right, those sorts of things."