Lawyer, Court Reporter Were ‘Accidental Entrepreneurs’
Lawyer John Tredennick was already at the top when he started his new business.
Tredennick was a partner at Holland & Hart in Denver when he persuaded his firm to allow him to develop a computer system that would allow file sharing among employees in different offices, CNN Money reports. The system proved to be a success in 1998 when the firm accepted a case involving more than 300 people.
After that, Tredennick persuaded Holland & Hart to allow him to create a separate document business, which later broke off from the law firm. Today, Tredennick oversees the company, Catalyst Repository Systems, which has 130 employees and is on track to earn $29 million this year.
CNNMoney profiled Tredennick as an “accidental entrepreneur” who made its list of the 100 fastest growing inner city businesses. The story also featured Terri Urbash, who left a job as a court reporter in 2002 so she could freelance at her home in Pittsburgh. Now she runs Network Deposition Services, with 30 employees and $2 million in revenues last year.
MyShingle.com sees the story as confirmation that it’s possible to start a solo practice, even for lawyers who don’t have an entrepreneurial bent.
