Kelby Zorgdrager

Kelby Zorgdrager knows how to start a company on a shoestring budget- and he knows how to do it very well.

“Remember your faith, your dreams, and your ‘why’”, he said. “With those things, you can accomplish just about anything.”

Zorgdrager is Founder & CEO of DevelopIntelligence, a boutique technical talent development firm focused on helping organizations move into new markets by equipping and transforming their technical workforce. After creating at least 20% year over year growth for a decade, Zorgdrager caught the attention of the world’s biggest education company, who in turn, acquired DI to help them drive enterprise sales.

Zorgdrager has since taken his niche and grown it into a multi-million-dollar company.

With over 20 years of being an entrepreneur, a CTO, and supporting corporate learning, Zorgdrager began his career intersecting technology with training in 1996. Bringing a unique view into the business of training, specifically the business of training technology talent, Zorgdrager was first interested in making adult education more effective as an undergraduate engineering student at Michigan State University.

While attending advanced math and programming classes, Zorgdrager said he observed that many of his peers struggled in the courses, not because of the complexity of the topics, but because of the instruction. Since then, it has been a personal mission for Zorgdrager to make learning technology - and technology learning- easier, more effective, and drive better business results.

Zordrager said that his leadership skills are applicable in growth, especially in times of unexpected change.

“I try to focus on what is working, what is going well, and what the future state will be, and I try to encourage others to join me in that vision,” he said. “This makes the current problems less daunting to address.”

Recently acquired by Pluralsight, Zordrager said that through this partnership, his goal is double the growth with enterprise clients, while staying focused on helping the world’s biggest brands create custom onboarding, reskilling, and upskilling programs.

Zordrager’s unique approach to delivering customized technical learning solutions has allowed him to lead DI to be on the Inc 5000 list seven years in a row. Additionally, he was a recipient of the esteemed Colorado Companies to Watch award, along with Denver’s Best Places to Work award. He is most proud of the Inc 5000 Hall of Fame run for seven straight years as one of America’s fastest growing education companies.

He said that the success of his employees measures his personal accomplishment of being a leader.

“If I leave my employees in a better place (professionally, financially, or emotionally) than before they joined DevelopIntelligence, then I succeeded as a leader. If I set them up for success in life and work, then I succeeded as a leader,” he said.

“Surround yourself with people who believe in you when you don’t believe in you. This will give you the strength to persevere and grow when the future is unknown,” he said, and added, “Live for today, learn from your past and prepare for your future.”

We look forward to learning more about Zorgdrager as his educational journey continues to develop.

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