Swiftpage Co-Founder Helped Spearhead the Entrepreneurial Movement in the Front Range

With Denver and Boulder leading the way, it’s no longer any surprise when Colorado ranks atop the national lists of “Best States to Start a Business,” or “Best States for Startups.” And, with that in mind, Swiftpage and the company’s founder, Bob Ogdon, fit into the local business culture perfectly.

Swiftpage has built its business on identifying the needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses—and delivering required tools to help them meet those needs. When the upstart email marketing software provider realized that contact management capabilities would go a long way toward helping their entrepreneurial customers grow their businesses, they acquired Act!, one of the best-known brands in the CRM space, and rapidly developed the product to work for the entrepreneur of today.

Swiftpage is also firmly committed to helping the local Colorado area to thrive as a hub for entrepreneurialism. Both Bob Ogdon and CEO John Oechsle are deeply connected to the Colorado Technology Association and, in addition to the Colorado Tech Tour, Swiftpage is also a participant in Denver Startup Week. The organization also works with kids through programs with Kidstek and the Denver Public Schools (DPS) CareerConnect Program to help develop the next generation of tech entrepreneurs.

Swiftpage’s commitment to entrepreneurship is no surprise to those who know the company’s founder and chairman. He recognized an emerging market with an absence of game titles for the popular gaming consoles Atari and Commodore 64. Never one to pass up an opportunity, Ogdon brought together a team of engineers and they began building video games for the consumer market. Bob is credited for creating one of the most successful games in its time, the Epyx Winter Games.

Ogdon transitioned from video game development to pioneering the creation of the CD-ROM by founding Mammoth Micro Productions in 1991, a CD-ROM multimedia company that transformed how content was delivered and consumed. MMP was later purchased by the Washington Post Company and continued with extensive development in Japan for Sony, JVC, and Fujitsu.

Then, in 2001, Ogdon and three other entrepreneurs noticed another emerging and underserved market. At that time, the market for enterprise software was saturated but few, if any, were focusing on entrepreneurs and small business owners who needed tools to optimize and grow their businesses. They created Swiftpage to serve fellow entrepreneurs through software that would allow them to grow their businesses. Ogdon uniquely positioned Swiftpage by partnering with large corporations with sizeable customer bases comprised of micro and small businesses. These partnerships, with companies like Sage, enabled Swiftpage to grow from a startup to the leading provider of contact management email marketing tools for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Swiftpage and Odgon continue to innovate and find new ways to create value for entrepreneurs, and remain dedicated to helping local small businesses thrive—both with Swiftpage’s software solutions and Ogdon’s leadership in the local business community. The success Colorado is now achieving is the ultimate reward for a career built on entrepreneurialism and an organization built on small-business growth.