Game Changers

Recession? What recession? These Washington state companies are ignoring the economic doldrums, playing by their own rules and growing full-steam ahead.

By Randy Woods and Julie H. Case | May 2009 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION

As we march inexorably deeper into 2009, we seem to be walking through a minefield. Everywhere we go there is bad news. Virtually every major Washington institution has announced layoffs. And if they haven’t yet, there’s a good chance they soon will. Stock prices keep sinking, and many companies now face the threat of bankruptcy. The gloom and doom are feeding on themselves and are in danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But the best business leaders in this region know that bear-market times call for bull-market thinking. By focusing on the right niche and offering products and services that can help customers increase efficiency, savvy entrepreneurs know that an economic crisis can be an opportunity to rewrite the business rules in their favor.

In these pages, you’ll find local companies that are not just surviving, they are thriving: Big Fish Games, flush with cash, is hiring and expanding market share in the booming casual games sector; Talyst, which makes software that can immediately reduce health care costs, keeps tapping new markets; Spokane’s Signature Genomic Laboratories has raised the bar for genetic testing across the country; Revel Consulting has exploded by showing large organizations where they can cut the fat; and Ascentium has combined technology and marketing to keep growing even as the advertising market tanks.

As the shakeout of the weaker companies continues this year, expect to hear a lot more from these five companies that are helping to reshape the state’s business landscape. >>>>

Swimming With The Big Fish

Local company finds big bucks in small games.

With the business world wracked with worry over the recession of 2009, Jeremy Lewis, president and CEO of Seattle’s Big Fish Games, has been reading up about how to navigate his casual gaming company through difficult waters.

So who does he look to for advice? Warren Buffett? Bill Gates? Jack Welch?

“Charlie Chaplin,” Lewis says, holding up a biography about the silent movie star. “In both good and bad times, he did the same thing: He made enjoyable, safe, mass-market entertainment at a great value. He was a true business leader for his times.”

While Lewis does not compare his own success to that of the cinema icon, he does believe his rapidly growing gaming business is walking in the oversized footsteps of Chaplin’s Tramp.

Founded in 2002, Big Fish has seen remarkable growth, offering about 1,000 individual game titles that can be played online or downloaded to desktops or mobile