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It's a rare executive, in any industry, who doesn't face the “can't find good people” conundrum.
That challenge is clear at Sarasota-based Silexx Financial Systems, a firm that sells custom-made software for Wall Street firms. The company, founded in 2008, has posted annual sales growth of at least 30% in the past three years, says founding partner Michael Williams, and annual profit margins are upwards of 70%.
The software, says Williams, is unique for hedge fund managers and stock pickers in that it isn't a clearinghouse or an analysis portal. Instead it's a simplistic pre-trade, post-trade and compliance software package that organizes everything a Wall Street guru does in a day. “We don't have any manuals,” Williams tells Coffee Talk. “This can be used as soon as you order it. It's the Apple interface of software trading.”
Yet with growth comes a pressing need for employees, especially in programming and tech support. Challenge one is to find the right fit, culturally and talent-wise. Finding people who can relocate to Sarasota is the next part of that challenge. Silexx executives recently looked at more than 500 resumes, says Williams, and fewer than 30 were worth second calls.
“There is a lack of a talent pool,” says Williams.
Silexx co-founder and CEO Thomas Frey, a native of Germany and the architect of the software, is considering going far outside Sarasota for a possible solution to the employee issue: that would be in Russia. Frey recently flew there for a programmer conference, and he was impressed with the talent level.
Russia wouldn't be the first choice for Silexx, but it's not out of the question, either. “I don't want to go to the outsource model,” says Frey. “I want to have people in the office I can see and talk to.”
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