Tech startup of the month; Promantek Inc., highlands ranch www.promantek.com founded: July 2000.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Hightech Coloradobiz - Brief Article

INITIAL LIGHTBULB: Over the course of 28 years selling tools for selecting and assessing employees, Joe Dowd witnessed a common organizational challenge time and time again. "Companies have trouble objectively determining (an employee's) performance," he explained. "Accountability is the issue. You set goals and objectives, but how do you track and measure and really know whether those things are being achieved?"

Working on a project for Public Service Co. of Colorado in the early 1980s, Dowd hit upon a solution: an empirical, computer-based appraisal of an employee's performance. The idea lay dormant for nearly 20 years, until he brought it up with friend Glenn Martin, formerly of Sun Microsystems. In 2000, Promantek was born from their discussions.

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The pair collaborated...