Not many startups launch out of university research, endure two economic recessions, persevere through a slow-to-develop market, and finally file for a successful initial public offering — all while maintaining 75 percent of its original founding team 16 years later.
But that’s the Impinj story.
Founder and CEO Chris Diorio spoke at the 9Mile Labs Demo Day on Thursday afternoon in Seattle, discussing how Impinj got off the ground and sharing some leadership advice he’s picked up on after helping lead the Seattle-based maker of Radio Frequency Identification technology since 2000.
Impinj, which employs 225 people, was the first company out of Seattle to go public this year when it sold 4.8 million shares and raised $67.2 million this past July. The stock has continued to rise since starting at $14 a share — shares are now trading at around $27.
It’s been quite the journey for Diorio, who founded Impinj in 2000 with fellow researcher Carver Mead. He recounted traveling to California to meet Mead in Silicon Valley and taking the startup leap. After the founders decided to launch a company, Diorio told Mead he was worried about his job as a computer science professor at the University of Washington.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get a company started in 18 months and be back at the university — just take a short leave, nothing to it,” Mead told Diorio.
“16 years later, we IPO’d,” Diorio, who is still an associate professor at the UW, recalled on Thursday. “Carver was at the ceremony and I asked him about those 18 months. He said, ‘what’s an order of magnitude among friends?'”
Impinj has overcome several setbacks, including early on during the dot-com bust.
“In 2002, literally, all our customers just went away,” Diorio recalled.
But the company was able to get back on its feet and “we’ve been pushing forward on our vision since,” Diorio said.
Impinj was an early player in RFID technology, which uses radio frequencies to track tagged items. The RFID market took longer than the company expected to come to fruition, but the company has been able to capitalize on growing use of the technology in recent years. Its RFID tags and technologies are now used across industries such as healthcare, retail and manufacturing, with Boeing using it to tag parts in aircraft assembly and Macy’s using it to track inventories at retail stores.
Last year, Impinj helped deliver connectivity for 3.4 billion items. The company also posted revenue of $78.5 million last year, up from $63.8 million in 2014. It first turned a profit in 2013, and showed net income of $900,000 in 2015.
“Think about the number of connectable items in the world — just think about it for a second,” Diorio said when asked about the future of Impinj. “… It’s measured in trillions. By any measure, we are still sub-1 percent penetrating.”
Impinj has also been able to retain a majority of the founding team, even 16 years after launching. Two of the company’s early investors, Madrona Venture Group and ARCH Venture Partners, have also maintained their support throughout the years.
Diorio, who served as CTO since 2000 before taking on the CEO role in 2014, also on Thursday shared three leadership tips:
Lead by example
Diorio shared a story about Ed Lazowska, the longtime computer science department chair at the UW. Diorio said he once saw Lazowska pick up a piece of trash on campus. He told Diorio that “our building should look nice.”
“That memory stuck with me,” Diorio said. “He wanted the place to be nice. It’s the little things you do that people notice. Lead by example.”
Empower people
Diorio said it’s important to tell people where to go, not how to get there.
“When you empower people to get there, and get out of their way and let them drive, they will find a much more clever way than you probably will ever be able to do on your own,” he said.
Always listen
Diorio said you’re never as smart as you think you are, and any person in a company can have a good idea.
“So spend most of your time listening, rather than talking,” he noted.