JB Systems was founded in 2001 by Gerald Bauer, a young entrepreneur who at the time was still working on graduating high school. Upon graduating valedictorian in 2002 from Eau Claire Memorial High School, Gerald traveled to Austin, Texas where he attended NexTech - The National Summit of Young Technology Leaders. It was there that he met the high-profile technology gurus such as Nicholas Donofrio, Senior VP of IBM, and Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of HTML, who inspired him to return to the Chippewa Valley with aspirations of creating a world-class website development firm and hub for web-based technologies.

Since then, JB Systems has added several staff members and has a client base of over 100. In 2007, JB Systems was highlighted for their services in Practical Web Design - a noted industry trade magazine based out of the UK. In 2008 more awards followed with JB Systems being recognized by Goldline Research as one of the "Top 10 Most Dependable"® Web Developers in the Central United States - a recognition that was featured in "Entrepreneur Magazine." All the recognition and awards have come from JB Systems, LLC working hard to "Set The Standard" in the Chippewa Valley and beyond for creative website design, graphic design, and programming services.

Despite Gerald's travels and opportunities to locate JB Systems elsewhere, he felt a strong connection to his hometown of Eau Claire. To him, Eau Claire is a growing city with ever-increasing potential for technology services, web-based and beyond. The small business economy in Eau Claire seems to be well sheltered compared to the economy as a whole because even though Eau Claire doesn't always necessarily see the highs of every economic cycle, it more importantly doesn't get dragged into the lows. What makes the city even more appealing to him is that the cost of doing business is far less than other parts of the country - and as JB Systems continues to acquire customers in other target markets outside of the area, their prices are incredibly competitive, thus helping them win a majority of bids.

Even though Eau Claire makes a great place for Gerald to run JB Systems, the business environment is not the only reason for headquartering here. He enjoys the highly rated school district along with the abundance of natural parks, trails, and entertainment venues such as Phoenix Park and Carson Park. Furthermore, Gerald enjoys the opportunities for community-related activities that Eau Claire provides through organizations such as the Chamber, The Chippewa Valley Home Builders Association, Business Networks International (BNI), DECI, and more. To Gerald, the business environment coupled with the community and entertainment aspects makes Eau Claire the perfect place to balance work and life.