Firm plans to hire up to 500 in 5 years

A small Colorado Springs technology firm plans to hire up to 500 people in the next five years as it develops and sells software that creates digital characters.

CodeBaby Corp. employs 12 people at its headquarters north of downtown and plans to double its work force by year's end, according to a source familiar with the company's plans who asked to remain anonymous because of an upcoming press conference.

Although salaries the company pays weren't available, the source said CodeBaby pays significantly more than the local average of $40,196.

CodeBaby was started in 2000 as a research and development operation for BioWare Corp., an Edmonton, Alberta-based company that employs 400 to develop computer, console, handheld and online video games.

The Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development Corp. has scheduled a press conference for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., for "a significant announcement of new media, Internet creative jobs." EDC officials declined to comment on the event. Jesse Marble, product marketing specialist for CodeBaby, refused to comment on the company's plans "until the press event."

The company is advertising for six positions on its Web site - www.codebaby.com - including vice president of marketing and chief creative officer. CodeBaby is headed by longtime local startup executive Patrick Bultema, who last was a partner with vSpring Capital, a Utah-based venture capital firm.

CodeBaby creates digital characters to help companies with customer service and training using software it developed five years ago called Production Studio. The software allows users to create interactive digital characters with human voices. The company's characters are used by Bell Sympatico, Canada's largest Internet service provider, for customer support, and Royal Bank of Canada, to help customers with online banking.

Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak, the local convention and visitors bureau will start using by today a digital character called Katharine developed by CodeBaby, to be an online concierge for visitors to the bureau's Web site - www.experiencecoloradosprings.com. Katharine will help visitors fill out a request for the bureau's visitor's guide or sign up for the bureau's free newsletter, said Chelsy Offutt, a bureau spokeswoman.

The bureau began working on Katharine - named for "America the Beautiful" author Katharine Lee Bates - about six weeks ago through a referral from EDC to help CodeBaby recruit local clients, said Amy Long, the bureau's vice president of marketing and membership. The character, a working mother in her 40s, is designed to "help convert (Web site) browsers to vacation planners and eventually visitors," Long said.

DETAILS

CodeBaby employs 12 at its headquarters and plans to double its work force by year's end.