Appian's chief executive designs strategy board games and plays them to win. Matt Calkins said so in his letter to investors, along with this: he and his three co-founders had been friends before they started the company, and they still argued over every decision. In May 2017 they took Appian public after 18 years of slow, self-funded growth. Its pitch was low-code software, which let companies build custom apps by dragging boxes on a screen.

Eighteen Years Near Washington

Matt Calkins, Robert Kramer, Marc Wilson and Michael Beckley formed Appian in 1999 in the Washington, D.C. area. They released their first software in 2000. In 2004 they launched a business process management suite with a web-based tool for designing workflows. Government agencies and large companies used it to automate work such as approvals, case management and claims. The founders grew the company mostly on its own revenue and kept building one platform.

Calkins Keeps Control

Appian priced its IPO at $12 a share in May 2017 and listed on Nasdaq as APPN. Calkins kept about 54 percent of the voting power through a second class of shares. Low-code became a crowded market, with Microsoft, Salesforce and ServiceNow selling similar tools. Appian moved more customers to cloud subscriptions and added process mining and AI features. It still trades on Nasdaq under APPN.

Cover: Chess-Players, Anders Zorn. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for chess players (a founder who designs strategy games).