SharpSpring

The company, built in Gainesville, is committed to fueling growth and deepening roots in its hometown

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When SharpSpring CEO Rick Carlson gets questions about moving his growing tech company to a larger, more metropolitan city, his answer is always the same.

“We have no plans to go anywhere. The talent coming out of the university is fueling the emergence of a true tech center in Gainesville, and we’re in it for the long-haul,” says Carlson, who earned his MBA from the University of Florida.

After working for 10 years in the private sector, Carlson moved back to Gainesville to raise his family and follow his dream of starting a company that provides powerful, affordable marketing and sales automation designed specifically for agencies.

What started as a team of four in the downtown Sun Center has grown over the last six years into a staff of more than 200, who now call Celebration Pointe their home. Over the years the company has also built its customer base and now serves more than 2,000 marketing agencies and 10,000 businesses worldwide as a publicly-traded company (NASDAQ: SHSP).

“The best part of working here is a strong sense of community—everyone is here to make a difference, not just a paycheck,” says SharpSpring’s VP of Client Services Jason Stankevich, who has been with the company for more than five years. “I feel proud that I’m working with so many driven people to deliver an incredible product and experience.”

Beyond their dedication to changing the way digital marketing is done, SharpSpring employees are also passionate about giving back to the Gainesville community. In 2018, the company gave $35,000 in support of local initiatives, events, and organizations, and logged 500 hours of volunteer work.

”As SharpSpring has grown, our support of the Gainesville community through volunteering, collection drives, and donations has been able to grow with us,” said Alana Christou, SharpSpring’s Director of HR and Recruitment. “Gainesville has allowed us to thrive as a business, and it’s important to us that we do as much as we can to give back and help it continue to thrive as a community.”

SharpSpring also hosts its Buzz networking event at a local bar or restaurant every month. The event is hosted so Gainesville tech professionals can get to know each other in a relaxed, laid-back environment.

That environment is similar to SharpSpring’s offices where suits and ties are definitely not the norm. Food trucks bring lunch to the office regularly to feed the team and help support local businesses. A local massage therapist and car detailer are also regular visitors at the office.

It should be no surprise that the SharpSpring team, working and innovating in this supportive and inclusive environment, has earned multiple awards over the years.

These accolades have ranged from awards for the SharpSpring platform itself—including a 2019 Most Revolutionary Software Award on the B2B technology review platform TrustRadius—to awards like the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM’s) 2018 When Work Works Award, for the company’s commitment to exemplary workplace practices.

“As our company has grown, we’ve stayed committed to maintaining the same sense of openness andcommunity that we started out with,” Christou explains. “We want SharpSpring to continue to be a  great place to work for years to come.”

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