An interview with Steve Addicott, Chief Operating Officer at Caveon
How has the reality of working for Caveon differed from your expectations upon joining 15 years ago?
“Wow. Fifteen years IS a long time, isn’t it? When I met Dave and the rest of the crew fifteen years ago, I thought I was embarking on a short-term consulting engagement, bringing some of what I’d learned in technology to this plucky group of measurement professionals. The reality has been that despite the importance of our mission, growing a small company organically (with no outside investment) is a hard thing to accomplish. Looking back, it is astounding what a small group of smart, passionate, committed colleagues can attain when working together every day to serve their clients.”
What was the biggest obstacle Caveon faced as a young company?
“When we launched, we were ready to save the testing world from pirates and cheats. Sound the trumpets! Wave the flags! Here is CAVEON! And, nothing but crickets. Those early days were hard. Like so many small, new companies, cash flow was a major challenge. Also, at that point, very few organizations truly understood how cheats and pirates were impacting their programs. It was crucial to educate important test programs on those impacts, in terms of lost test development investment and on test score validity.”
“I have several—playing guitar as we performed “Jamie and the Imposters” during John Fremer’s lifetime contribution award reception was just great. The opportunity to travel worldwide (even to Astana, Kazakhstan) for various client engagements and industry events has certainly provided some highlights. Additionally, some of my favorite memories involve situations where our clients confront really challenging situations, and may not be sure how to respond. It is a genuine privilege to be entrusted in those scenarios to provide support—they don’t know where to turn, and Caveon can help. I appreciate those opportunities to serve.”