Founded in

2016

Hours of client work

28,000+

Successful Projects

200+

Our Story

Ideal State was formed out of a love for helping great organizations be even greater.

Back in 2014, co-founders Sara Teitelman and Jeremy Nurse found themselves in a regular after-work conversation, often over a glass of wine, about the best ways to use technology to transform how great organizations achieve even more great things. How important was the actual technology to the end result? The conclusion was, it's not as important as you might think.

Riffing off of their real-time experiences leading complex technology projects at an international NGO (in Sara's case) and the Veteran's Administration (in Jeremy's case), they concluded that there was only one non-negotiable:

You've got to listen and empathize with people from across the organization to understand the nature of the challenge to be overcome, then design solutions with and for the people who will actually use them. 

A simple concept, really. But human-centered design and agile product development were just beginning to gain popularity in mainstream IT circles. Most nonprofit IT practitioners and digital transformation champions hadn't yet gotten the memo. 

Inspired by this insight, Sara and Jeremy set out to create a new kind of IT consulting firm committed to helping nonprofits massively improve the state of their technology by putting people first. From its humble beginnings around an actual kitchen table, Ideal State grew quickly by word-of-mouth and has gone on to support some of the world's leading nonprofits in their digital transformation journey. 

How We Work

Our values are the driving force behind everything we do

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Human-Centered

Listening to people is where transformational change begins

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Collaborative

Working together makes us stronger and more impactful

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Transparent

Open and honest communication is the key to healthy partnerships

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Generous

Sharing our knowledge helps others learn
and grow

Leadership Team

Sara Teitelman, MPH

Sara Teitelman, MPH

Co-Founder and CEO

Sara's journey as a digital transformation leader began in the early 2000s while working for large, research-focused international health organizations at the height of the HIV pandemic. Over the next 15 years, her work was focused on designing systems and strategies for improved data capture and use and improving knowledge flows across teams, organizations, and time zones.
Read more about Sara

Jeremy Nurse

Jeremy Nurse

Co-Founder and COO

Jeremy began his career in 1995 at Forrester Research before moving to Silicon Valley and working at the intersection of IT and business strategy. He went on to lead dozens of large-scale enterprise technology projects for diverse organizations, including Ford Motor Company, the Veterans Administration (VA), Blue Cross Blue Shield, Children’s Medical Center, and Nationwide Insurance.
Read more about Jeremy

The Ideal State Toolbox

Ideal State Toolbox 2023-1