Economic Forecast: Barbara Steinberg, founder, Excelerate Technology

Company: The exclusive United States reseller of financial records analysis software by Scotland-based company Altia-ABM, Barbara Steinberg went all in on the business. She moved to Naples two years ago after leaving behind her Medicaid application assistance business in New York. 

Going into her second full year here, 11 of her 12 clients have renewed their annual contracts with Excelerate Technology — the lone defection the result of a law enforcement agency losing its grant funding. The software automates the laborious process of examining financial records. It also has broad applications for accounting firms, law firms, law enforcement agencies, government agencies and more.

Industry: Steinberg has found a niche in the federal government, namely the FBI.

“I met a guy from the FBI at a trade show a year ago and he was pulling somebody high up over to my booth to see the software,” says Steinberg. “Right now it’s going through headquarters because they test all the software before going out into the field.”

Through her FBI contacts, Steinberg has captured the attention of other federal government agencies. “They said it was time for them to look at new technology, and I know our product runs rings around what they have there,” Steinberg says.

Threats: As she considers how to scale up to meet the needs of what she anticipates as a big year for growth, Steinberg says here primary concern is keeping up with new demand. 

“For me it's a matter of how I scale to get as much business as I can,” Steinberg says. She may have found help in somebody she met at a chamber breakfast who is an attorney from out of state but not practicing in Florida. He has a background in prosecuting financial fraud cases.

“He appreciates the software and he has a lot of contacts with the (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and other agencies, and we are talking about partnering up,” says Steinberg. “I am looking at it as a referral relationship. My challenge right now is how much can I do as one person.”