Marty Balkema, co-founder of Augusto, shares his theory behind building a client roster and positive reputation by banking on trust and hiring great people.

In this episode of the Augusto Digital Insights podcast, Brian Anderson interviews Marty Balkema—a 20-year software development veteran and the COO and co-founder of Augusto. As a leader on the executive team, Marty has been instrumental in helping to shape the company's operations and culture. This is one part of a series focused on the people and relationships that guide Augusto’s vision for the future.

Marty and Brian first met when Marty was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, working for a company called Rapidparts—a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Association (MCFA). Marty was responsible for the development of their Lift Truck Solutions platform, and he hired Brian’s team at the time to help.

Because of the way Brian handled the unintentional budget overage on that original project, the two men maintained a long relationship—and, eventually, friendship.

Marty shares about his unique educational experience at what was then called GMI Engineering and Management Institute (now Kettering University). As a fully cooperative school, the pattern of education was that students worked for 12 weeks in the field then attended school for 12 weeks. He quickly began to love solving problems around technology.

When Brian was considering starting a consulting business, Marty’s family was looking for an opportunity that would allow them the freedom to live wherever they wanted. That paired with the opportunity to consult on software development led Marty to jump on board.

Marty shares how they built a client roster and positive reputation by banking on trust and by performing solid jobs. He also talks about the importance of hiring great people who want to pursue client wins—then setting them free to do their jobs. As part of his job, Marty creates a culture and environment at Augusto that sets talented people up to thrive.

We thank Marty for his time on the Augusto Digital Podcast and for the way he creates a team of amazing workers!