Suburban talent pool helped draw Envestnet to Chesco
Software start-ups may be fishing for a few young engineers in Philadelphia. But it's the Chester County suburban-family lifestyle that hooked the software department of a Chicago fin-tech firm that looks to bring hundreds of engineering and development jobs to the edge of Valley Forge National Historical Park over the next few years.
Software start-ups may be fishing for a few young engineers in Philadelphia.
But it's the Chester County suburban-family lifestyle that hooked the software department of a Chicago fin-tech firm that looks to bring hundreds of engineering and development jobs to the edge of Valley Forge National Historical Park over the next few years.
"I moved here from Chicago with my family" to grow the tech shop for Envestnet Inc., a publicly traded company that makes software for investment firms, chief operating officer Josh Mayer told me from his new office in Chesterbrook.
The company says it has moved or hired 115 there since June. It expects to have 153 total staff, to qualify for nearly $500,000 in tax credits and grants by the end of the year - two years before the state deadline - and has arranged space to accommodate hundreds more.
Mayer likes the 10-minute commute, the lavish Tredyffrin/Easttown public schools, and the "vibrant talent pool" of financial-software developers and service professionals along Route 202 in Philadelphia's western suburbs.
"We did a search," Mayer told me. "I have people in Boston, in Denver, in Silicon Valley. But this area checked all the boxes for us. There are universities nearby. We have proximity to New York [financial clients], and transportation to our Chicago headquarters" down back roads to Philadelphia International Airport.
Most important: "I was pleasantly surprised by the significant technology presence here," with competitors including SEI Investments in Oaks and Lockwood Advisors Inc. in King of Prussia; software-development partners such as Wheelhouse Analytics in West Chester; and clients including Brinker Capital in Berwyn; plus investment advisers who manage exchange-traded funds from Vanguard Group in Malvern.
According to the state government's corporate-aid proposal, Envestnet plans "to consolidate portions of its operations from Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Denver, and New York and other locations in the U.S. to a new leased facility in Chester County."
"Envestnet plans to invest at least $4.9 million in the project," according to a statement from Gov. Wolf's office. Last year, Envestnet earned about $12 million in profits, from sales of $421 million.
Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development has agreed to give the company $459,000 in tax credits after the new workers are hired, plus $36,000 from the WEDnetPA employee-training fund.
State Sen. Andy Dinniman (D., Chester) credited recently completed new lanes speeding traffic on congested Route 202 for helping attract new and expanded employers and landlord renovations to the aging office corridor.
According to Dinniman, the road also helped decide recent hiring announcements by the health IT provider Cerner Corp., which is adding 250 at Great Valley Corporate Center north of Malvern, and biopharma developer Radius Health, which is adding 80 at its Swedesford Road location in eastern Tredyffrin Township.
215-854-5194 @PhillyJoeD