Thad Dupper (front row, center) and the Dupper Analytics team consisting of technology students from Rock Canyon High School, Mountain Vista High School, and a graduate from Colorado State University.

During the height of the pandemic, there was a shortage of not only hygiene products like hand sanitizer and toilet paper, but schools faced a shortage of teachers.  After his wife Jean came home from a school board meeting at Douglas County School District, Thad Dupper decided to get certified as a substitute teacher and tackle tough subjects such as math, science, technology and business.

Dupper’s love for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) dates back to his college days, when he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in computer information systems from Manhattan College in New York.  It is no surprise Dupper became a well-known technology executive during his career.  After being CEO for Secure64, a cyber security company, and the former chairman and CEO of Evolving Systems, a NASDAQ-traded company, Dupper created Dupper Analytics, a data analytics company that develops cloud-based solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations.

The Duppers moved to The Village at Castle Pines in 2004 from New Jersey.  They have two children, Andrew, a sophomore at NYU majoring in applied mathematics, and Katie, a senior at Rock Canyon High School.  Andrew, who is a co-founder of Dupper Analytics, was Chief Technology Officer (CTO) until graduating from high school.  The company’s current CTO is Philip Dobranowski, a senior at Rock Canyon.

Dupper Analytics has a two-fold mission.  First, help businesses gain technological advances that are cost-effective.  Second, “provide the next generation of technologists with a solid start to their careers.”  During his substitute teaching days, Dupper discovered a community of highly intelligent and gifted teens who were interested in technology.  Through a network of faculty members teaching advanced placement (AP) classes and honors programs, Dupper started recruiting high school students interested in advancing their software development skills.  Generally, students are recruited as sophomores and rotate out after they graduate.

Dupper said the current high school students far exceed his expectations because, “Today’s high school students’ capabilities rival that of a college student of just a few years ago.”  Dupper believes because today’s students have been raised with technology, using technology comes naturally.  He also credits high school curriculums for keeping up with teaching new technology and cyber challenges.  The programmers at Dupper Analytics are paid twice as much as they would earn working at a fast-food chain.  Moreover, Dupper’s team aspires to attend some of the most selective STEM colleges and universities.

When Dupper is not brainstorming with wiz kids, he can be found crafting furniture made from reclaimed wood or authoring a techno-thriller novel.  He published his third book Operation Shattered Ice, available on Amazon.  To learn about internships or schedule a demo of business solutions, visit www.dupperanalytics.com.

The teen wiz kids at Dupper Analytics currently consist of juniors and seniors, but sophomores are welcome and recruited too.

By ViVi Somphon; photos courtesy of Dupper Analytics