Global tech firm Affirma to create 100 new jobs in Fayetteville

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) 2,960 views 

Affirma Consulting, a fast-growing technology services firm headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., has opened a new U.S. office in Northwest Arkansas.

The office at 641 W. Dickson St. in downtown Fayetteville will be the company’s primary U.S. Engineering Center of Excellence, according to a news release. It is anticipated the office will hire more than 100 new employees in the next five to seven years, with experience in software engineering, Salesforce consulting, NetSuite consulting and SharePoint development.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Affirma to the growing tech community in Northwest Arkansas,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement. “They will bring more high-quality jobs for Arkansans and others who continue to move here. It is exciting to have this Washington-based company find a new home in Arkansas.”

Affirma has additional domestic offices in Los Angeles and Reno, Nev., as well as international locations in Ireland and India.

Company co-founder Mark Mason said the company intends to actively recruit graduates from the University of Arkansas. Mason was in charge of the initiative to determine when, where and how to establish the next Affirma location, with the help of Little Rock-based Innovate Arkansas, a statewide initiative that helps scale technology companies.

“We were seeking a central location to serve the entire U.S., and our search kept bringing our focus back to Arkansas,” Mason said. “The thriving business climate, abundant technology talent, quality graduates from the University of Arkansas and solid support for business and technology from Governor Hutchinson made the decision simple.”

Affirma was founded in 2001 and has been listed five times on Inc. magazine’s well-regarded annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in America. Rankings for the lists are based on how fast a business’ revenue grew from one year to the next, which makes Affirma’s five appearances notable, considering the fact that, as companies develop and grow, their expanding base makes high growth rates difficult to sustain.

The company’s most recent listing was on the 2017 list, with 2016 revenue of $26 million and a three-year growth rate of 96%.

Mason attributes the recent growth, in part, to the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction, which has been measured at or above a 98% rating by customers over the past five years.