A strong entrepreneurial spirit in the technology sector today has contributed to a local and national boom, and that, say some of those in the industry here, is a big reason why the sector continues to blossom.

And they don’t foresee the tech industry slowing down—or leveling off—in 2016.

“We’re in the midst of an entrepreneurial boom in the tech sector in Spokane and across the country,” says Tom Simpson, who is president of the Spokane Angel Alliance, an organization of individually accredited investors and corporate members across the Inland Northwest.

“There’s more innovate income out there, more incentives for small entrepreneurs to pursue ideas that have the potential to generate income for them and investors,” says Simpson, who has 25 years of experience as an investment banker, venture capitalist, angel investor, and entrepreneur.

He adds, “It’s mainstream now,  a TV-show like Shark Tank, business-plan competitions across the country, and more than any other sector, tech is benefitting from this climate in a way that exceeds others.”

Ryan Darbonne, marketing director for Liberty Lake-based Gravity Jack Inc., says he strongly agrees with Simpson’s outlook about the way businesses are now approaching tech companies for their services. Gravity Jack specializes in developing software in the fields of augmented and virtual reality.

“When we first started in 2009, there was a hesitancy on the part of businesses to utilize us because no one wanted to be the first one to roll the dice,” says Darbonne, whose marketing office is based in Denver. “Companies are now coming to us. Augmented reality and virtual reality are technologies that are past the point of being unfamiliar to people.”

He adds, “We don’t have to sell the importance of AR and VR or even have to explain to businesses as much what it is. They’re now approaching us and asking, ‘How can we apply this?’ ’’ 

Though Gravity Jack declines to disclose annual revenues, Darbonne asserts, “What I can say is that annual revenue has well over doubled since 2013, with the confident expectation being that it will double again by the end of 2016. Non-fiscally speaking, the year was a success in terms of growth and market presence too.”

In October, Entrepreneur Magazine recognized Gravity Jack—which employs roughly 25 people—as one of the U.S.’s best entrepreneurial companies.

Itron Inc., also based in Liberty Lake at 2111 N. Molter Road, is a maker of automated meter reading technology and one of Spokane’s largest tech-sector employers. Earlier this year, the company announced it expanded its relationship with Sunrun Inc., one of the nation’s largest solar companies.

As part of the relationship, Sunrun agreed to purchase more solar meter devices from Itron and relying on its staff to process data generated by the meters. The move is part of Itron’s ongoing effort to move deeper into the growing solar energy field.

Itron recently reported third-quarter revenues of $469 million, which compared with $496 million in the 2014 third quarter. Foreign currency exchanges impacted revenues. Excluding foreign currency, revenues increased $19 million, or 4 percent, compared with the 2014 quarter, the company says.

The company has 75 offices in 35 countries worldwide, with about 8,000 employees. About 500 of those employees work in its 200,000-square foot building in Liberty Lake.

—Kevin Blocker