This year marks TechPoint’s fifth annual Tech 25 Awards, and we’re taking a look back at some of the honorees from the first four classes to see what kind of an impact winning had on their careers and lives.

It’s also the fifth year for Indianapolis Business Journal’s CTO of the Year Awards and we’re pleased to announce that we’re joining forces with IBJ to host both events during the same awards breakfast on August 22, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.

The idea behind the Tech 25 Awards is a simple one—recognize the people who are helping to grow our community’s tech and tech-enabled companies but who, not being the CEO or other top executives, don’t get celebrated publicly as often. Tech 25 winners are critical and exceptional performers who have gone on to found their own companies or take on c-suite or other leadership roles within their companies.

Nominate for Tech 25 and CTO of the Year

Nominations for the 2019 Tech 25 class are due Friday, June 7.

We reached out to a number of past Tech 25 winners and we were able to connect with these four honorees who shared their experiences with us.

(Left to right) Jenn Golding, San Pathak, Egan Montgomery and Robin Fleming.

Jenn Golding (Tech 25 Class of 2015) started her own agency called Sapphire Strategy, hired six people, and grew revenues by triple digits in her second year since branching out on her own with the blessing and encouragement of her former boss and business partner. Oh, and she got married in the middle of everything.

Members of the Sapphire Strategy team pose with Jenn Golding (right), past Tech 25 winner.

San Pathak (Tech 25 Class of 2017) has taken on tremendous new responsibilities with a promotion to VP of Technology, Operations and Finance for Element Three. He also co-founded the education technology startup Afterschool HQ, which boosts afterschool program participation.

Egan Montgomery (Tech 25 Class of 2018) was promoted to DemandJump’s Director of Marketing just before last year’s Tech 25 class was announced, and the honor gave him confidence stepping into a new, much larger role. He literally had to dye his hair blue earlier this month because his outbound sales team achieved 200% of their goal.

Robin Fleming (Tech 25 Class of 2015) came to Indy from Match.com in Texas and received job offers from the Lone Star State and the Coasts following the Angie’s List acquisition in 2017. High Alpha, however, lured her into becoming an Entrepreneur in Residence, which resulted in her current role as CEO and Co-founder of Anvl.

Describe your career path from your role when you won Tech 25 through to today.

Jenn Golding: Since winning Tech 25, my career has completely exploded! At that time, I was the Director of Client Success for DK NEW MEDIA, and I eventually moved into the role of Vice President and Partner. In January of 2017, my former business partner and I amicably decided it was time for a change, and I went on to found Sapphire Strategy, a measured marketing agency for tech companies, service-based businesses, and nonprofits. Now, we have six employees,  have upgraded to a bigger office in The Union 525, and grew our revenues over 200% in our second year.

San Pathak: When I won Tech 25 in 2017, I was the VP of Technology at Element Three. I have since become the VP of Operations taking on the delivery management team, and I have also taken on the VP of Finance role. Luckily I have great directors handling the day to day operations of my teams!

San Pathak (right) co-founded After School HQ with his friends and colleagues Darye Henry (center) and Denzil “Val” Crooke.

Egan Montgomery: I was promoted to Director of Marketing just before last year’s Tech 25 class was announced. Tech 25 gave me a ton of confidence stepping into a new, much larger role. I think there’s always some measure of self-doubt when you’re trying to do something that’s really big, and each of us copes with that in our own ways. Tech 25 is something I always hold close when those moments of doubt creep in.

Robin Fleming: I was honored to be selected as a member of the Tech 25 inaugural class of 2015 shortly after moving to Angie’s List, where I continued my software technology focus after several years at Aprimo/Teradata. After the HomeAdvisor acquisition of Angie’s List, I moved to High Alpha as an Entrepreneur in Residence with the goal of becoming part of a High Alpha Studio startup company. I’m thrilled with my decision which resulted in my role as CEO and Co-founder of Anvl, where we focus on frontline worker safety software and helping companies engage with frontline workers and ensure they make it home at the end of the day.

What major milestones or achievements took place during this time?

Jenn Golding: The biggest milestones for me since 2015 have included becoming VP and partner and then starting my own business in January of 2017. With the new business, I have had several key milestones: hiring my first employee within two months, meeting my recurring revenue goal within four months of starting the business, upgrading to a bigger office within a year of signing our first lease, and growing revenues more than 200% in the second year of business. It was also very humbling being honored as the youngest member of the 2018 IBJ Forty Under 40 Class.

San Pathak: I have co-founded an EdTech startup called Afterschool HQ (AHQ) focused on getting more students involved in afterschool programs. We have seen schools exceed 50% participation through the use of our platform, something we are very proud of. AHQ was also nominated for a Mira Award in 2019, which was a blast! Being named to the Tech 25 also opened a door for me and I was asked to be a judge for the Mira Awards as well.

Egan Montgomery: One of our major priorities since Tech 25 has been building our Outbound Marketing capabilities. I have two of the best BDRs in Indy Tech, and fantastic sales & marketing ops leadership. Together we’ve gone from almost no productivity to performing 115% to our aggressive quarterly target so far in Q2. It’s been a process and a total team effort, but Tech 25 was a source of confidence that I could lean on during that battle to achieve in a new category.

Governor Eric Holcomb signs Senate Bill 257 at DemandJump’s headquarters making Indiana “one of only four states to exempt software as a service in state statute.”

Robin Fleming: Transitioning from a technology-focused leadership role to co-founding a startup is THE major milestone in my career over the last 15 months. I was looking at technology leadership roles outside of Indianapolis and fully expected to take one. Then I talked with the team at High Alpha and learned more about the studio approach to building startups, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do next.

High Alpha gave me the courage to take a really big risk and embark on the startup journey. They pitched me Anvl and the concept and vision really resonated strongly with me, so I signed up to be employee #1 and began building the company. I am so very proud of the Anvl team and what we have been able to accomplish in a little over a year. I can’t wait to see what we do next!

What did being a part of your Tech 25 class mean to you?

Jenn Golding: Being a part of the Tech 25 class meant being accepted as a contributing member of Indiana’s tech community. I care about our state and city, the businesses we’re growing here, and all of the amazing work the people are doing here. We matter. Every little thing we can do to help make our city and state stand out more is worth it!

San Pathak: I was very honored to be recognized for my achievements in tech. Since then I have bumped into fellow 2017 Tech 25 winners during my regular activities at Element Three.  It’s always a cool feeling to walk into a conference room with another company and there’s another Tech 25 winner across the table from you.

Egan Montgomery: Being a member of my Tech 25 class was honestly one of the most humbling achievements of my career so far. It means so much to me that our co-founders, Christopher Day and Shawn Schwegman, had the confidence in me to even make the nomination. And to be included in such a talented class of individuals is beyond humbling. Tech 25 is one more symbol of the innovation happening in our state right now. This group of 25, along with the other classes, are the non-C-level leaders who are helping to facilitate a new wave of industry that is transforming our economy and the lives of the many customers benefiting from Indiana’s technology companies.

Anvl leadership team (top left clockwise) Diana Nolting, Allison Bantz, Robin Fleming.

Robin Fleming: Being part of the first Tech 25 class was very special to me. I was at a point in my career where I was too old to be the 30 under 30 or 40 under 40, and not yet at a C-Level, so being recognized for my contributions meant a lot to me. Also, being recognized alongside such a talented, diverse group of individuals, with many different roles and skills, made the honor extra special.