Cutting Edge Boulder Company Makes Its Mark In Web Engineering

CBS4 and the Denver Business Journal are teaming up to profile companies that are "Making a Mark" in their Colorado communities. Read the first report below.

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - A custom software and consulting firm in Boulder that is building a reputation of giving back to the community is now concentrating on growing its own community.

Ingrid Alongi, CEO and co-founder of Quick Left Inc., told CBS4 their big challenge right now is finding qualified applicants.

"A lot of the stuff we're doing is very cutting edge, so it's not specifically what you'll get taught in a computer science department," she said.

Many of the employees at Quick Left ride bikes to work instead of driving, and the cycling influence shows in the company's name.

"There's a ride a lot of cyclists in Boulder do where you go out Highway 36 and you go up Left Hand Canyon and you kind of take a quick left," Alongi said.

The company also prides itself on doing their contracted work quickly, something they thought also was reflected well in the name.

Alongi said she thinks it's becoming more common to find women in computer engineering positions these days.

"You know it's funny, I've been in software my entire career; it's getting a lot easier for women in engineering," she said.

Once every month Quick Left sponsors a widely attended hack fest, a place where programmers and other web geeks gather to come up with new ways of solving problems.

"It's a chance to get a whole bunch of programmers in a room. They have a fun task, and everyone collaborates and pairs up," Alongi said. "That's one way that we give back. That's really important to us.

Quick Left owners say they want to keep growing but also remain a small company. They feel they can perform best with a workforce in the upper 20s.