BUILDING A TECH LEGACY
GENERATION IX TECHNOLOGIES
Family-owned company transforms
BY JAKE POINIER
into IT powerhouse
I N THE EARLY 1980S, Kevin Watne was a typical student at UCLA, with a side job working at RadioShack. So what was it exactly that attracted him to the world of technology? “Pure economics,” he says, laughing. “While most people came to RadioShack to buy alarm clocks and batteries, they had this new thing called a computer, which had a nice 4% commission beyond minimum wage.” While still attending UCLA (but after leaving RadioShack), Watne joined a company that was pioneering software development for microcomputers for businesses. In 1984, he ventured off on his own
Tech’s far reach More important, what had started in the early days as computerizing general ledgers and mailing lists expanded into technologies that touched every aspect of business operations. “Fast forward to where Generation IX is as a company, we can serve literally every role as a full turnkey solution for a company’s IT needs,” Watne says. Companies with a few dozen users no longer need a CIO, CTO or internal team with technology expertise. Through outsourcing, they have access to the tech puzzle pieces they need, from architecture, procurement and 24/7 device monitoring—or even managing the move to a new office. Generation IX has also helped
startups navigate the transition from frugal bootstrapped environments to the fast growth occurring after investors come on board. For upmarket companies with a few hundred employees, Watne’s team works with their IT executives to supplement needs in areas such as help desks, procurement and cybersecurity. All in the family
and started his own company. But it was the advent of the internet in 1996 when the industry truly took off, leading him to launch Generation IX Technologies. “You had business executives who had thought of computers as a piece of furniture on their desk,” he says. “Then suddenly they had this thing called email, which was pretty cool and useful.”
In 2017, Watne’s sons Holden and Reed were both working in their first jobs out of college. “To that point, we’d always been a word-of-mouth company,” Watne says. “I didn’t even have salespeople—we would just try to do a good job for someone, and they’d refer us to other people in their network.” After a family discussion, both sons joined the
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IN YOUR CORNER ISSUE 17 | 2024
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