Courier Complete Ranks 9th On Profit Magazine’s Fourth Annual Hot 50
26/08/2003 @ 03:39
Markham, Ont. – August 25, 2003 – Courier Complete, which manufactures mission-critical operations and business management software for courier, messenger, expediting and delivery companies, grew sales 1,134% in just two years placing it ninth on Profit magazine’s first and only ranking of Canada’s top 50 Emerging Growth Companies.
“The PROFIT HOT 50 delivers a snapshot of this country’s entrepreneurial spirit,” says editor Ian Portsmouth. “These are resilient and nimble companies that are not willing to take no for an answer.”
Courier Complete is the second company founded by its president and CEO, 23-year-old Tony Lourakis, who took sales to $865,131 in 2002 from just $69,353 in 2000. He is also the youngest founder on Profit’s ranking this year. By year’s end, September 30th, 2003 for this firm, it is expected annual sales will total $2-million.
“Of course, I’m proud of our sales growth but I’m just as excited by the fact we’ve shown a profit in each of the last two years and have maintained our high growth rate,” says Lourakis, whose young company is entirely self-funded. “We did it through sweat equity, our credit cards and eventually a line of credit. We’re debt-free because we managed our cash flow and it’s allowed us to retain 100% control of the company. We could have grown faster by taking on debt or venture capital funding, but we’re glad that we answer only to ourselves, our customers and our employees.”
Lourakis and his partner Andrew Merisanu developed the courier industry’s first software system built entirely on Microsoft-based technology. It gives about 200 small- to medium-sized customers the same abilities as the likes of Federal Express and UPS. Courier Complete provides customers with internal and external management systems as well as the ability to offer their clients online order entry and real-time tracking capabilities. Currently, about 45% of Courier Complete’s customers are U.S.-based.
Back in 1998, a friend in the courier industry asked the pair to build a basic Windows-based dispatch system. Market research told Lourakis and Merisanu that there are about 10,000 courier firms in North America, but that most software providers were Unix-based and targeted customers with sales of over $5-million.
“We saw a need and a niche,” explains Lourakis, who attributes many of Courier Complete’s sales to its Web site and the fact that he makes sure Courier Complete comes up first when potential customers search Google and Yahoo for courier software.
Courier Complete’s success is also due to the fact the firm solicits customer feedback on how it might improve the software through interaction with account managers as well as in formal meetings. Although just three years old, the software is now in its third incarnation. In 2004, Courier Complete plans to focus on the European and South American markets and further develop its trilingual software (English, French, Spanish).
About Courier Complete Inc:
Courier Complete Inc’s mission-critical operations and business management software was designed specifically for the courier, messenger, expediting and distribution industries. It manages everything from customer relationships to order entry, dispatch, driver scheduling and settlement, auto rating and accounts receivable. The Courier Complete solution improves customers’ business performance, reduces operating costs and simplifies the overall management process. The company has more than 200 customers. To learn more about the firm, visit
www.couriercomplete.com or call 1-800-220-0779.
About PROFIT:
PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success offers news, strategies, tips, interviews and other resources to entrepreneurs leading Canadian growth companies. Each year PROFIT – which currently reaches more than 350,000 readers nationally – hosts a number of events that bring together business leaders in the fast-growth segment and champions the interests of those leaders. PROFIT was founded in April 1982, as Canada’s first national magazine geared to entrepreneurs.
Visit www.profitguide.com for more information on the PROFIT HOT 50.
For more information or to arrange an interview with Tony Lourakis please contact Kara Kuryllowicz at (416) 465-2758, kara@bizwrite.ca <Back
