


Started in 2001 by Therese Tucker as a wealth management software developer, BlackLine shifted gears in 2005 and provided a tailor-made accounting solution to the First National Bank of Nebraska, marking the company’s entry into the financial close and accounting operations arena.
When customers use an application for purposes the creator did not intend it to be used for, it is a sign of flexible, powerful and intuitive software; and BlackLine has experienced that multiple times. It might be hard to believe, so here are a couple of instances where the firm’s offering is being used creatively:
A very large American airline has used BlackLine for fuel ticket and wheelchair transit matching, and Cox Communications utilizes BlackLine to track the return of cable TV equipment, in addition to the latter’s solution being widely employed in Cox’s finance department. “The customers are the ones who come up with the best ideas of how to extend our functionality, opening up new market opportunities for us,” says Therese Tucker, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BlackLine Systems.
One of their long term clients, Cox Communications, led by Executive Director, Enterprise Accounting and Finance Solutions, Tammie Coley, has been an active partner with BlackLine since their first encounter. When they first started as a BlackLine client they had accountants all over the country, and BlackLine was then able to centralize all their accounting operations.
As a part of Therese Tucker’s multi-year plan preparing for the potential eventuality of taking the company public, BlackLine went through a private equity process last year, and they have also acquired some amazing talent over the last few months, making quick progress towards achieving their goal of doing an IPO in the next few years. Apart from that, they also intend to continue sophisticating their already top-notch security model so as to counter the vulnerabilities that come with the skyrocketing adoption of SaaS model.
![]()
When you win customers over, they become your advocates and your sales force. You cannot buy that kind of reputation
Company
BlackLine Systems
Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA
Management
Therese Tucker, Founder & CEO
Description
A provider of Software-as-a-Service-based solutions that automate the entire financial close process.