Meet the Berwyn tax software company that serves Apple, Starbucks

Tax software isn’t sexy. Jeff Westphal admits that much.
“Socially, people are never interested in tax software, but they are always interested — no, they are never interested in tax software. Let’s just leave it at that. Never,” Westphal told the Inquirer.
Westphal, 53, of Newtown Square, runs Vertex, a tax software company whose clients include Apple and Starbucks. He describes his job as “creating the workplace.” Vertex made more than $185 million in revenue in 2014, according to the Inquirer. Six hundred of the company’s 900 employees are based at Vertex’s Berwyn headquarters. Other offices include those in San Francisco, London and Chicago. The company plans to hire 250 in the next three years.
Westphal’s father, Ray Westphal, founded the company in 1978 and it’s now owned by Westphal and his two siblings.
Read the full Q&A
(Could Philly win the prize for least-sexy software companies? We’ve also got insurance software firms like iPipeline and Adminovate.)