One eureka moment for IvyTek came a decade-plus ago when Mike Griggs was searching for a way around having to re-write code for his loan management software company to fit the then-new .NET Framework 3.5.
Griggs and his team had recently built a client-server infrastructure — installing servers and building wide-area networks, among other things — using the previous framework version when Microsoft released the updated one.
“It (.NET 3.5) was not backward compatible, and we had to rewrite again,” Griggs, the chief executive officer of IvyTek, of a time when present-day solutions offered by Azure and AWS were in their infancy. ” And at that time, I said, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to have to do this again.’ It had taken me a year and a half to get to this point. There’s got to be a better way.”
There was. The Salesforce CRM was the solution for IvyTek, founded by Griggs’s father, Dan, in 1996 on a DOS-based platform. Griggs and his team fully leveraged CRM’s IaaS and PaaS features, reducing IT staffing for hardware and network infrastructure. It’s been “growth after growth” for IvyTek ever since Griggs said.
That eureka moment involving the Salesforce CRM platform has led to IvyTek molding its product — the IvyTek Finance loan management software — into a solution organization that companies can use to streamline their loan management process and maybe even cry ‘Eureka!’ themselves when they discover it.
All-in-one LMS solution
“Our system is 100 percent configurable,” said Griggs. “Our clients can use us as their technology provider and configure the system even after it’s been installed. Some of our enterprise clients with IT departments familiar with Salesforce can extend our package with their teams. I am unaware of competitors enabling their customers to extend their products this way.”
The LMS from IvyTek offers an all-in-one solution for clients looking to simplify their processes when originating loans and taking payments.
Most of the systems Griggs says IvyTek is replacing use multiple vendors for the various loan processes, including loan origination, loan servicing, underwriting, and documentation.
“Because we can leverage the Salesforce platform, it’s very easy for us to configure for each individual company,” Griggs said. “We baked in flexibility to tailor IvyTek finance for any client. That was one of our original goals.”
Three generations of premium finance program expertise
The roots of IvyTek go across three generations of Griggs, starting with Mike’s grandfather Fred, who learned how to code while working for the State of Louisiana and wrote one of the state’s first programs for insurance.
Eventually, he established his own development company, writing programs for premium finance and other business management programs. Using his coding skills, Fred — who once worked with a cousin who owned an insurance company — wrote a premium finance software solution that financed car premiums in the days when automobile owners couldn’t make monthly payments for car insurance.
That led to Fred’s son Dan, Mike’s father, rewriting the program and establishing IvyTek. Mike joined the company in 2002 and, along with his wife Sandy, bought the business from Dan in 2014.
We create opportunities for people to leverage financial tools for the betterment of their lives and communities
Mike Griggs, IvyTek CEO
Mike and Sandy, who met and married in the 1990s while both served in the US Navy, lead IvyTek as CEO and director of client services, respectively, and are based in Florida after stops in California and Louisiana. Dan, now enjoying retirement with his wife (and Mike’s mother) Vickie, still offers advice in business and on code from time to time, “especially on the financial side, working on financial calculations or some sort of new requirement, especially wrapped around insurance.”
“He’s the guy that we go to to ask, ‘How would you tackle this calculus?'” said Mike Griggs, who also has Native American roots.
Today, IvyTek continues to branch out and seek more clients from various industries, including commercial lending, public sector finance authorities, and the student lending market.
“We create opportunities for people to leverage financial tools for bettering their lives and communities,” Griggs says. “We pride ourselves on being more than your preferred software provider. We are your custom developer and business partner.”