Tech firm Octiv to be acquired but remain in Indianapolis

Indianapolis-based tech firm Octiv Inc. is being acquired by Conga, a Colorado-based document automation firm with about 350 employees, but is expected to retain its local presence.

The deal should close within the next month, according to an announcement from Octiv officials on Wednesday afternoon. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

At least initially, the acquisition will have little impact on Octiv's 55 employees—more than 50 of which are located in Indianapolis—and its clients, company officials said.

Founded in 2010 as Tinderbox Inc. and headquartered in the Lacy building on Monument Circle, Octiv will continue to operate under its current moniker until leaders determine how to integrate it into the Conga family of products, officials said. 

“Conga will be the lead brand, and it’s not entirely been determined what will happen to the Octiv brand name,” Octiv CEO David Kerr told IBJ.

All Octiv’s employees—including the executive team—will remain with Conga, said Kerr, who added he will continue to lead the local office. Kerr, who has been with Octiv just under four years, was chief operating officer for nearly three years before taking over as CEO in January 2017, when co-founder Dustin Sapp resigned.

“Right now we see [executives] being folded into the [Conga] and taking an active role in the company,” Kerr said. “Being a part of a bigger company, it will expand the opportunities we will be able to offer our team.”

Indianapolis will serve as a core hub for Conga. Kerr said he expects the number of employees here to grow and locally-fueled product development to accelerate. In addition to its headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado, Conga has offices in Seattle, Orlando, London and Sydney.

Octiv provides a document generation platform designed to create efficiencies in creating forms and reports like proposals, quotes, contracts and presentations. Octiv does not divulge its revenue, but Kerr said that year-over-year revenue increased 85 percent two years ago. Last year, the increase was still strong but slightly lower.

The acquisition took shape as Octiv’s global clients—including General Electric, Siemens, Ibotta and Angie’s List—“pushed us to grow globally," Kerr said.

“We accelerated those conversations [with Conga] to meet those customers’ needs,” Kerr said.

Conga officials said the acquisition also is beneficial to its clients.

“Octiv’s solution strategically complements the Conga Suite,” Conga CEO Matthew J. Schiltz said in a media statement. “It will power Conga customers who generate web-based documents to even greater success, while expanding our document and contract management user base.”

Kerr said Octiv’s acquisition is a positive sign for Indianapolis.

“It continues to validate Indianapolis as an incredible tech hub,” Kerr said. “Conga is one of the fastest growing [software as a service] technology companies in the U.S. at this point. It’s another company that has discovered Indianapolis is a great place to do business.”