jordan maunder
Zach Maurides has firmly established the company he founded, Teamworks, as the leading technology for group communications, whether it’s for a football team or the NCAA’s large staff at the Final Four. What started as a unique tool to help college coaches stay in contact with their players has grown into many different industries — college and pro.
CEO, Teamworks
Age: 35
Born: Arlington Heights, Ill.
Education: Duke University, B.A., sociology
Family: Wife, Melissa; children, Caroline (3), George (1)
I get fired up by … : Good dance music.
Advice to my 20-year-old self: Enjoy those calories now.
Profession I’d most like to attempt: Commercial real estate developer.
Guilty pleasure: Hershey’s Milk Chocolate.
Could not go a day without? Coffee!
Cause supported: Durham Rescue Mission.
Person in the industry I’d most like to meet: John Donahoe.
Ideal day off: A day at the spa, no electronics or contact with the outside world!
Most adventurous thing I’ve done: Climb two of the Seven Summits (Kilimanjaro and Elbrus).
You would would be surprised to know that I … : Love a good bubble bath.
Maurides took Teamworks in a new direction last year with the acquisition of INFLCR, the company that works with teams, coaches and mostly athletes to provide them with videos and photos to post on social media. Just like the Teamworks app, which enables athletes to better organize their day, INFLCR gives the athletes an assist with expanding their brand digitally.
“That’s been a big step for us,” Maurides said. “They’ve grown like wildfire and we’ve built a company here that’s growing aggressively. That was a big milestone for us.”
If there’s been a challenge, it’s been managing that growth, which has also been part of Maurides’ evolution not only as a business owner, but also as a boss. To help manage the demands, Maurides has successfully raised money through investments, the most recent being a $15.3 million Series B round of funding in 2018. With that and previous investments, Maurides has increased the number of employees from 59 two years ago to more than 100 now. He also directed Teamworks into a new 15,000-square-foot office space to accommodate the new employees.
“Early on, I made the mistake of hiring somebody, telling them what to do and how to do it,” Maurides said. “What you realize as a leader is that when an idea comes from someone else, when it’s their initiative, they’re going to work twice as hard because they want it to work. That’s one of the biggest things I’ve had to learn."
