From Humble Beginnings
When Thad Jampol, Dan Harsell, and Vera Newman co-founded Intapp — then known as Tsunami Software — in December 2000, they recognized the risk they were taking. The dot-com bubble had burst, and many people were now skeptical about investing in tech companies. Nevertheless, the three colleagues knew they could bring something unique to the industry: software that allowed firms to easily consolidate data from different sources.
“Within about 6 months of starting up, we had our first customer,” remembers Harsell, who now holds the joint title of co-founder and senior vice president of technology at Intapp.
Despite this early victory, the company didn’t really begin to take off until 2003 — coincidentally, the same year that Don Coleman came on board. Coleman, who now serves as chief operating officer at Intapp, correctly predicted that the small company was destined for success.
“The founding team built an amazing product and there was huge market receptivity for it,” he recalls. “We just had to get out there and show it to people … and we did that with very little, if any, funding.”
With no money in the budget for travel, Coleman and his teammates used a board member’s frequent flyer miles to attend a trade show in Florida to promote their product: the first integration solution for professional services firms. Once he arrived at the conference, however, Coleman faced another budgetary issue. “We didn’t have a booth,” Coleman says. “Some kind people let me stand in theirs.”
Thankfully, even without their own booth, Coleman and his team were able to successfully promote their product and the many benefits it offered firms.
Attracting New Clients and Growing Our Team
That same year, the fledgling company gained an important new client: the law firm Loeb & Loeb. Impressed by a demo — conducted by Jampol himself — Loeb & Loeb leaders decided to install the company’s integration solution, which at the time was housed on a dedicated hardware server known as an Integration Appliance. (That name was eventually shortened to IntApp; in time, the company itself assumed the name of its first product.)
“The [integration] appliance was one of a narrow market,” says Adam Klein, Systems Integration Engineer at Loeb & Loeb, “And we had a very specific need: maintaining multiple systems with the same data set and keeping everything in sync. Having something as novel as this overlord system was pretty amazing.”
As the company began to attract the attention of a greater number of clients, its leaders knew they’d have to expand both their audience and their product line to truly grow and thrive.
To effectively serve both new and old clients, Intapp acquired multiple companies — including DealCloud, Intapp, Gwabbit, Rekoop, Advanced Productivity Software, and The Frayman Group — and hired a crew of dedicated professionals with diverse backgrounds and talents to transform the way firms operate.
“Intapp and its thoughtful approach to welcoming both clients and employees alike is masterful,” says Jennifer Richard, who worked at The Frayman Group before the Intapp acquisition and became Senior Director of Account Management Operations at Intapp, post-merger. “I’ve been surprised by the approachability of our executive team and our C-suite team, as well as the receptiveness to new ideas and change.”
Creating a supportive and collaborative workplace has always been important to Intapp leaders, as is hiring those who embrace our values and mission. “I’m impressed by the tenacity of people at Intapp,” says Newman. “They do whatever they can to solve whatever problems we may have or reach any goal we may have. People give it their all and make it work, and they do so together.”
Thanks to many hardworking teams, Intapp has earned its reputation as one of the most trusted providers of vertical software solutions. “Before I came to Intapp, I worked with a company that also served the legal industry,” recalls Dan Tacone, President and Chief Client Officer at Intapp. “I called a bunch of our common clients, and I could not get one of them to say a bad thing about Intapp. One firm representative said, ‘Working with Intapp is a great experience. I wish all our vendors were the same.’”
“Our clients are critical to us,” adds Jampol. “We know that we’re where we are because of them.”
Providing Innovative Solutions and Building the Future
One key reason why so many law firms were — and continue to be — drawn to Intapp is the company’s deep knowledge and expertise within the industries we serve. “We’re the only firm that totally understands the legal market,” said Cynthia Schmidt, Senior Director of Programs and Planning at Intapp. “We have a really good grasp on what the professional services industry needs.”
Because of this strong understanding, Intapp can keep up with current trends in the industry and find innovative ways to help firms best address the ever-changing needs of clients. One such innovative idea, Client Lifecycle Management, formed the basis of an end-to-end solution that lets firms address every part of their business, from acquiring new business and onboarding clients to working engagements through resolution and billing. “When we first white-boarded the concept of a customer-engagement lifecycle, I remember thinking, ‘Wow — That’s a unique point of view really understands the unique needs of professional services firms,’” says Jose Lazares, Vice President of Product and Business Management at Intapp.
Over the years, the company’s offerings have evolved and expanded significantly. “We grew from a legal industry supplier to a multi-industry supplier, and from an on-premises supplier to a cloud supplier,” says Tacone. Now, 20 years later, company provides intelligent, cloud-based connected firm management solutions to more than 1,600 client firms around the world across legal, accounting, private capital, investment banking, and consulting industries.
As new technology emerges, Intapp leaders hope to find even more innovative ways to help firms increase their efficiency and profitability. “I think we will be able to use machine learning, AI, and other, newer technologies to provide a very personal, customized experience for our users,” says Lavinia Calvert, General Manager of Marketing and Business Development Business at Intapp. “There’s so much potential, and we’re truly well-placed to be a preeminent technology provider to professional services firms.”
As Intapp celebrates its 20th anniversary, we’re deeply grateful to our client firms, partners, and team members for helping us transform the professional services industry and inspiring us to excel. We look forward to a bright future together!