STEVEN BURNS, FAIA, NCARB

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Steven is a thought leader and speaker on topics related to firm management and emerging technologies. He has delivered more than 600 presentations at webinars and conferences around the world.

After receiving his Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Steve spent 7 years at SOM in Chicago, London, and Berlin, before founding his first company in 1993, BBA Architects.

In 2000, Steve launched his second company, Orange Loft, to develop business management software. In 2004, Orange Loft released its first product, ArchiOffice. Within 3 years the platform was in use by more than 750 firms and Steve made the decision to move full-time into the software business. In 2007, after 14 years managing BBA Architects, Steve sold his first company with 17 architects on staff.

In 2010, Steve had a successful sale of his second company to BQE Software where he became a significant shareholder and held the title of Chief Creative Officer.

In 2020, BQE Software received a significant investment from Serent Capital, and Steve began the next chapter in his career, taking all he had learned working with principals and managers from more than 1,400 A&E firms over 18 years, and created The Well-Designed Firm to help other architects and engineers build the company of their dreams.