Tim Cope encourages students to take risks.
That may sound like an odd posture for a man who made his name and fortune as the co-founder of a software firm that provides innovative solutions to companies looking to minimize their exposure to costly business risks. But he has his reasons.
“Taking risks sometimes involves failure and I find that failure is super important to good experience as an engineer,” Cope says. “Failure helps you become both a more resilient person and worker. You understand things a little differently and you gain new perspectives.”
Cope is a highly successful graduate of what ultimately became the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. He received his bachelor’s degree in computer systems engineering in 1994.
In 2009, following a career as a software developer and team manager, Cope and his business partners founded Origami Risk. The group sought to create a single-version risk management information system, or RMIS, that operated in the cloud.
Their solution was designed to replace a patchwork of individualized pieces of software, each created for a different client and each deployed on servers in a variety of locations. The Origami Risk single-version piece of software ensured that every client got the full benefit of updates and new features. Making the RMIS available on the cloud meant that clients could give employees all over the world access to the tools.
Risk management is an important element of protecting businesses from unforeseen expenses, consumers from unnecessary costs and employees from preventable accidents. Corporate clients turn to Origami Risk for help in making sure they don’t overpay for insurance, that they make good decisions about worker welfare and that assets like vehicle fleets are managed with safety in mind. The company’s software helps with everything from cybersecurity to reputational risks to avoiding the perils of natural disasters.
Origami Risk was born out of Cope’s decision to risk his future on his own capabilities.
After his then-employer closed its New York office and let the development staff go, he was approached by now-partners, Robert Petrie, Steve Fischer and Linus Concepcion, about starting a new venture. Cope weighed more secure job offers from existing companies. But with encouragement and support from his wife, Dr. Jennifer Cope, he decided to write a new chapter in his career as an entrepreneur.
From a small startup with a handful of employees, Origami Risk has emerged as an industry leader. Today the company, headquartered in Chicago, has more than 900 employees, an annual revenue of $200 million and is growing at a rate of approximately 25% per year. The company is currently exploring the use of artificial intelligence in its development process, searching for novel ways to improve the products it offers to clients.
Looking back, Cope believes the risk paid off.
“Every experience you have informs the next experience and it’s all valuable,” he says. “Not every project I have worked on has been successful, but if you take risks with a thoughtful eye on the future, it will pay off in the end.”
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