Paperless Business Systems CEO Randy Pape thrives on diversification

What: Paperless Business Systems, based in Seattle

Who: Randy Pape is the founder and chief executive officer.

Employees: 18 to 20

What it does: Provides Web design, software development, financial consulting and information-technology support for businesses. The company has 22 clients, including Microsoft, Hallmark and Alaska Airlines.

What's new: Elephants & Ants, the Web-design division of Paperless, received "Site of the Week" honors on July 29 by Communication Arts, a trade magazine, for its work on Leo Paper Group's Web site.

Update: In April, Paperless released an updated version of its flagship product, eRequester, a Web-based requisition and purchasing program.

Success: The company said it has been profitable for the past six years and has seen revenue increase 470 percent from 1998 to 2002. Pape attributes the success to three qualities: diverse services and products, employees' jack-of-all-trades mentality and good financial management. "That diversification is the main reason why we're still here six or seven years later," the 39-year-old Pape said, noting that many IT companies are one-dimensional, offering only one type of product or service.

Teamwork: Pape said each of his employees has his or her own niche, but has been able to offer advice and help in other areas, especially in the "off-season."

Seasoned work: Pape said his business is seasonal. From March through October, Paperless focuses on clients and their needs. During the other four months — when his clients are usually wrapping up annual finances and their employees return from vacation — the company looks inward and tries to improve its services and products. This has caused the company to develop seasonal roles for its employees.

Suddenly software: While studying for his master's in management at the University of Oregon, Pape worked at a campus computer lab when a real-estate agent called for help reorganizing a list of names and phone numbers. Pape agreed to do the service and finished it in five minutes. The agent thought it would take a couple of days. "She was blown away and from there my fate was sealed," he said. After earning his degree, he moved to Seattle because he thought it was a cross between Paris and Alaska, two places he enjoyed visiting, and was hired by a software company in 1989. He created Paperless in 1996.

The future: Pape said he'd like to hire more employees once the economy stabilizes and he feels it is safe to do so. Before the downturn, Pape said he was hiring an average of six employees per year.

— Ben Aguirre Jr.