Matriculating a one-man company into the ranks of eLearning providers is an accomplishment; growing an industry-leading organization through Canada’s tech-bubble dark age (and doing it without venture capital) is a summa cum laude achievement. John Baker has done just that.

With over four million users, his company’s eLearning suite and services help schools, universities and educators from around the world bring learning from the blackboard to the computer screen.

Red Canary caught up with John to talk about his early decisions, the exponential growth at Desire2Learn and what’s next for his organization.

Tell me about the genesis of Desire2Learn
I was working on my degree in Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo, I knocked on my professor’s door and asked him if I could put his course online.

Although he was a bit confused about the idea of placing his course material on the Internet, he agreed. In the end, it ended up costing me more than three times what I had originally quoted him, but from this experience grew Desire2Learn.

So how did you begin? Did you write code?
I found myself writing code in the evenings and building the organization during the day. This meant that I was working 20 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week for at least the first 3 years.

What was the eLearning environment like when you started the company?
At the University of Waterloo it was non-existent. I was very fortunate if a professor put a few course notes on a website for us to download in advance.

I applied my background to develop and build new eLearning tools and functionality.

“Desire2Learn was still in its infancy during the crash of 2000. As you can probably guess, this was not an ideal time for a young engineer to be knocking on doors to sell enterprise software.”

Why did you choose to remain in Kitchener-Waterloo after you launched the company?
The community seemed very welcoming and conducive to attracting first-rate talent.

Has that community had an impact on the development of your company?
Without a doubt! Groups like Communitech and a number of CEO peer-to-peer groups have been instrumental in terms of providing opportunities to network with other technology leaders and develop excellent business contacts.

You’ve gone from a company of 1 to over 150. What’s your experience been like in terms of growth, physical space, and how the organization changed.
At first there were two of us in an office space of approximately 3,300 sq. ft. As we grew, we knocked out a few walls, then a few more walls, then expanded to another floor—and subsequently expanded to additional office floors.

Now we have three-and-a-half floors in a tower located on the main street in downtown Kitchener, and every year we add another few thousand square feet of space.

How has that impacted your culture?
At one point we were distributed in two separate buildings because we simply ran out of office space. Consolidating our staff under one roof has made a significant difference. We try to keep small team structures and maintain our small-company feel through various organized social events.

I guess your company is fairly developer heavy?
Our focus has always been on research and development. Approximately 43% of our employees are in Research & Development with 37% in technical consulting and support. The balance of our staff is employed within our sales, marketing, and administration teams.

You just made Deloitte’s Fast 50
Desire2Learn showed more than a 2000% increase in revenue over the past five years. This is a remarkable accomplishment for a seven-year-old, self-funded company.

So the publicity that comes with the Deloitte recognition is beneficial?
Certainly, although our focus is on trying to find excellent talent. Winning awards has aided our recruitment efforts. We’re growing rapidly and are looking at adding another 80 employees in the next 16 months or so. Perhaps we should have applied a few years earlier!

Has the rapid growth of Desire2Learn over the past few years changed your perspective?
In our infancy, we were scrambling just to get things done. In many ways we were somewhat reactionary. What I’m seeing today is that we’re doing things more strategically, more proactively and we’re starting to have a real impact on teaching and learning.

“Our focus has always been on building great technology that people love using. We feel privileged to see that it is impacting the ways in which teachers and students teach and learn.”

Do you think that love of technology is predominant in Canadian companies?
I’d like to think so; however, I know of many Canadian tech companies whose primary concern is generating huge amounts of cash flow. We’re just not one of them.

Desire2Learn is a successful bootstrapped technology company. How does that impact your business?
It allows us to focus on longer-term strategic decisions as opposed to shorter-term financial returns, which hopefully, if you’re playing your cards correctly, leads to better financial returns in the long term.

You don’t regret not taking funding?
No, not really. If that had been the case, the company would have probably been sold by now. Given investors’ time horizons, if we had had venture capital we probably would likely have had to have an exit by now.

Could a new company in the same space as you survive without funding?
There are competitors within this space that have received $100-$200 million in funding. However, I don’t know how anyone would make it in this industry unless they were dedicated to working 80 hour weeks without pay. That is what we had to do in the beginning. For us, there was no other option.

So what’s on the horizon for Desire2Learn?
Growth. We’re launching new products and services, engaging in new research initiatives with the National Research Council, and launching new versions of our current product suite. We continue to move forward and focus on improving teaching and learning.

What areas are you hiring in?
We’re hiring in all areas, however, most of our hiring is taking place within our development team. We have junior software developer titles available all the way up to and including senior architect positions. We are also seeking sales representatives, development managers, project managers, product managers and many more.

We’re hoping to quadruple the size of our sales and marketing force within the next couple of years.

What would you say to a young entrepreneur in terms of what rocks they should try not to step on?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is persistence. You’re going to make many mistakes, but if you truly believe in what you’re doing, in the technology that you’re developing and in the company that you’re building, that belief will carry you through the rough spots.

Are you still having fun?
Absolutely! Lots of it: otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.