Encouraging innovation

In 1999, Elaine Myrback decided taking the last step up the corporate ladder was not what she wanted in life. She left her corporate career overseeing 2,200 employees and a $1.5 billion portfolio of products and services as senior vice president of Danka Imaging, and decided to start out on her own.

“I like having my own sandbox to play in,” Myrback says. So when she discovered a common need for Oracle technology system support, she decided to start EMS Consulting — Intelligent Chaos (EMS-IC) to help companies find, implement and support complex systems that support day-to-day business.

Myrback won two major accounts in her first year of business — the Discovery Channel and Marriott International — which allowed her to jump right into the business without any outside investment. Since that first year, she's steadily grown the company from five employees to more than 100. Year-over-year growth has held steady with gains of more than 15% each year, Myrback says. Although she declined to share revenues, she says the company is bringing in less than $20 million.