Roaring 20 2014

NOVEMBER 2014 » INSIDE BUSINESS » 5

Divurgent Founded 2006 Business type Health care Based Virginia Beach Website divurgent.com Revenue $7.1 million in 2011; 14.4 million in 2012; $16.1 million in 2013 Employees 26 in 2011; 36 in 2012; 48 in 2013

As the United States health system is roiled by massive and far-reaching financial and clinical changes, Colin Konschak, chief executive of Divurgent, said far from ailing, care providers have opportunities.

Divurgent, a Virginia Beach-based health care industry consultancy, has focused its business on assisting health care providers adapt their operations to survive and thrive in today’s health care environment.

“Change will impact the payment side and the clinical side,” Konschak said.

The way health care providers are paid is changing. The way patients are cared for is changing. Perhaps most revolutionary is the way health data is stored – increasingly electronically.

Divurgent is banking on providers recognizing this change is occurring, and seeking help to adjust the way patients are treated, how they are paid, and how to hone their overall strategic plans.

Konschak said providers will see their bottom lines improve if they’re willing to rethink

how patient care is delivered and how all facets of their business operations can harness information technology. Those resisting change will struggle financially.

“Strategic planning is what we do,” Konschak said.

To see how far-reaching these changes are, and how planning for these changes can be a monumental task, Konschak points to the classic inpatient hospital. These hospitals are typically the top moneymakers for health systems.

Yet increasingly patients are turning to treatment provided in physician offices or outpatient centers, because clinical best practices are shifting and insurers are seeking cheaper care options.

A health system relying on inpatient hospitals to pay the bills is going to steadily see its financial security grow weaker.

Meanwhile, storing electronic medical records offers the opportunity for a patient’s health history to be accurately tracked across a wide spectrum of care centers, such as a physician’s office, outpatient clinic or inpatient hospital.

Divurgent has already lined up a sizable list of clients, including physician practices, home health care providers, small standalone hospitals in rural communities, and sprawling urban and suburban health care systems.

Divurgent’s headquarters is in Virginia Beach, but the firm also has offices in Dallas and San Francisco.

And demand for Divurgent’s services is growing. In 2013, Divurgent reported revenues of

Colin Konschak expects growth of 20 to 30 percent annually.

$16.1 million, more than doubling the company’s 2011 revenue of $7.1 million.

Looking ahead, Konschak expects Divurgent to grow by between 20 and 30 percent each year.

During this time, Divurgent’s staff also grew, nearly doubling in size to 48 at the end of 2013 from 26 employees in 2011.

“Thankfully, it’s a mission-driven industry in health care,” Konschak said. “At the end of the day, we’re all consumers of health care so we might as well make it better.”

– Ben Werner

Endurance IT Services Founded 2008 Business type Information technology Based Virginia Beach Website www.endurance-it.com Revenue $2.08 million in 2011; $3.15 million in 2012; $4.41 million in 2013 Employees 16 in 2011; 38 in 2012; 30 in 2013

When the Fortune 500 company Blake White and James Ashmore worked for decided to close its operations in Hampton Roads, they saw an opportunity to start their own company.

They invested their personal money and launched Endurance IT Services in January 2008 with about 20 clients. Today, Endurance has more than 180 clients and 32 employees.

Born and raised in Norfolk, White is an Old Dominion University alumnus who has been living in Virginia Beach for about 20 years.

After traveling all over the world for several large IT consulting firms, White realized Hampton Roads is often overlooked and underserviced. In order to change that, the mission of Endurance is to offer large-company experience to local small, medium and large companies in the area.

The company provides computer networking and infrastructure services to a broad and diverse group of clients.

Its smallest client could be a 10-person law

practice; while at the other extreme it serves larger companies such as Stihl Inc., as well as the city of Virginia Beach and the city of Newport News. Endurance offers clients what they need, whether that is full IT support, help on specific projects or onsite services. Staying flexible and available is what keeps Endurance growing and meeting the needs of clients, White said.

The company has grown at a minimum of 40 percent revenue annually. In 2011, its annual revenue was $2 million and in 2013 it increased to $4.5 million. Staff has also increased from 16 in 2011 to 30 in 2013.

Endurance has received recognition in the 2014 Inside Business Best Places to Work, been named to the Inc. 5000 list for the third year in a row and received the 2014 Small Business of the Year award by the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

White said he believes three things drive the growth of the company: client satisfaction, a happy staff and giving back to the community by participating in charity and community events.

For Endurance, clients and employees go hand-in-hand. White said, “If you are taking care of your staff and they are happy, they seem to go out and do better work for clients, which keeps them happy. Those two seem to feed off each other.”

By maintaining their core values of excellent customer service and quality staff, the company’s ultimate goal is to continue to grow at 40

Blake White says the key asset is his staff.

percent revenue annually.

White and his partner Ashmore have their sights set on reaching the 50-employee mark, as well as hitting the $10 million revenue mark.

White said both goals will happen in the next couple of years. The company is projected to finish this year at $5.5 million with more than 30 employees.

“Taking care of the clients will propel your growth and for us, it’s worked out. Our key asset is our staff; we have to have great people,” White said.

– Esther Keane

6 » INSIDE BUSINESS » NOVEMBER 2014

JES Foundation Repair Founded 1993 Business type Foundation and crawl space repair Based Virginia Beach Website www.jeswork.com Revenue $20.64 million in 2011, $21.74 million in 2012, $22.04 million in 2013.

Employees 155 in 2011, 157 in 2012, 175 in 2013

Good employees, targeted marketing and specialized services is how company founder Jesse Waltz said he’s been able to grow his Virginia Beach-based foundation repair and crawl space encapsulation company, JES, year over year.

In June, Waltz moved the company headquarters from 569 Central Drive to the 45,000-squarefoot office building he purchased for $2.5 million in the Corporate Landing Business Park and added 33 employees.

Waltz needed more space to grow BizWiz, the management software system he launched in 2009 under parent company KBH Business Management Systems.

Because the cloud-based software program, designed for contractors and construction companies, tracks business performance by keeping real time data on leads, sales, the rate of return on marketing, production, profitability, accounting and employee performance, it’s become a key stimulus for JES. “A lot of companies don’t know what they are going to get for their money when they advertise,” Waltz said. “Because of BizWiz, I can track

trends, so I know how much it’s going to cost to get so many leads and I know how many leads turn into sales.”

Waltz has gone coast to coast with BizWiz , which can cost anywhere from $100 a month to $60,000 a year depending on what you want it to do for you, and plans to launch an advertising program for the computer program at the end of the year Between JES and KBH, Waltz is up to 230 employees and will be hiring in the near future.

JES is looking to open an office in the Interstate 81 Corridor this fall near Staunton or Charlottesville. This will be the fourth office for JES, which has branches in Manassas and Chester in addition to Virginia Beach. Waltz said he will need 20 more employees for the new location to start.

In addition to its physical footprint, JES is also focused on expanding its client base. Though JES advertises through TV and newspaper ads, the company recognizes the importance of customer referrals. Each customer is given a card to pass on to colleagues, friends and family. For each referral, the customer receives a JES $100 bill.

Another secret to success: specialized services.

“We don’t try to over diversify,” Waltz said.

“We find products and services we’re good at and try to get batter at them every day. We don’t veer too far from the chosen course.”

New this year is PolyLevel, a product used to level an uneven sidewalk or pavement.

Jesse and Stella Waltz will need 20 employees to staff a new location near I-81.

“We’ve added it to our services in Manassas and we’re bringing it down this way,” Waltz said.

“We expect it to generate a lot of revenue.”

JES claims to be the biggest crawl space and encapsulation company in the country and the second largest in foundation repair.

“I’d like to thank our customers for choosing us and our employees for doing a good job for our customers,” Waltz said.

– Lydia Wheeler

Liberty Tax Service Founded 1996 Business type Tax preparation firm Based Virginia Beach Webite www.libertytax.com Revenue $359.1 million in 2011, $381.2 million in 2012, $421.2 million in 2013.

Employees 1,530 in 2011, 2,361 in 2012, 2,430 in 2013.

By 2020, Liberty Tax Service wants to be the No. 1 tax preparer in the world. This is why the company launched its new Siempre brand, which will cater to the Hispanic population.

With a separate brand and office locations, Siempre will have Spanish-speaking personnel in many of the nation’s largest cities to meet the growing needs of the Hispanic population.

Although the goal may sound ambitious, Liberty has had this goal since it was founded in 1996, with just four employees. Now, 18 years later, the company feels that the goal is within reach.

What started out in 1996 with one location in Canada has grown to more than 4,400 locations throughout the United States and Canada.

In 2010 and 2011 the company was named one of Accounting Today’s “Top Tax Firms” and from 1998 to 2012 has been ranked as one of the top franchise opportunities on Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual Franchise 500 list.

The company went public in 2012, creating liquidity for shareholders and the ability to grow quickly and gain capital. Ranked in the top 10

out of 3,000 for bringing in new franchises, the number of Liberty employees grew by 59 percent from 2011 to 2013 for a total of 2,430 in 2013.

To grow the company, CEO John Hewitt focuses on structure and income. According to Hewitt, the two must align. Too much structure and not enough income will lead to failure and too much income with not enough structure will also lead to failure.

Most competitors are corporate-owned rather than franchised, Hewitt said, giving Liberty the advantage of consistency based upon its business model.

Hewitt says if you want your employees to act like owners, make them owners. Currently, 98 percent of Liberty Tax offices are franchised.

The goal is to reach 100 percent.

To continue growing, Liberty will take advantage of regulations set by the Affordable Care Act. The law will affect close to 50 million people, requiring many to have their returns prepared by a third party, creating opportunities for Liberty, Hewitt said.

With corporate offices in Virginia Beach, 95 percent of full-time corporate employees are based in the Hampton Roads area.

Internal strength gives the company the ability to grow. At Liberty internal strength comes from its ability to improve through corporate and always listening to franchisees, experienced staff, and momentum within the industry, Hewitt said.

– Virginia Lascara

CEO John Hewitt focuses on structure and income.

NOVEMBER 2014 » INSIDE BUSINESS » 7

LoanCare, A ServiceLink Co. Founded 1983 Business type Mortgage subservicing Based Virginia Beach Website www.loancareservicing.com Revenue $42.7 million in 2011, $55.7 million in 2012, $85.2 million in 2013 Employees 397 in 2011, 603 in 2012, 803 in 2013

LoanCare president Gene Ross hinks excellence in technology and customer service has propelled the company to one of the biggest employers in Virginia Beach.

“Our performance is always at a high standard,” he said about the company that provides full and interim subservicing for residential real estate loans.

Formerly a division of Essex Savings Bank, LoanCare was created when the bank was sold in 2004. LoanCare became its own entity in 2004, but has been servicing loans since 1991.

With two locations in Virginia Beach and an office in Jacksonville, Fla., LoanCare has been ranked by National Mortgage News as the third largest subservicer in the industry. The company experienced 102 percent employee growth from 2011 to 2013, from 397 employees in 2011 to 803 in 2013.

Over 550,000 loans in all 50 states are subserviced by LoanCare.

The company has taken advantage of the organic growth that occurred after new, stricter regulatory requirements, known as Basel III, led

clients to sell their loans directly to the government. Because the government does not service loans, growth opportunity opened up for LoanCare.

“We’re not the only non-bank servicer to be experiencing growth right now,” Ross said.

One thing that sets LoanCare apart is its advanced technology, which helps make the servicing process easier for clients.

“A while back we made a very deliberate choice to invest in good technology,” he said.

The technology allows the company to service loans with a great deal of transparency, something important for customer service. LoanCare developed technology that will allow clients to review their loans.

“They can log on securely to see what we are doing on a daily basis to manage their assets,” he said. “We’re servicing their most important asset and they want to know that we are doing everything possible to conserve their loans.”

The secure logon allows clients to view reports, payments, notes that resulted from discussions with the borrower or any letters sent regarding the loan.

LoanCare places further emphasis on its clients by allowing them to place their private name and logo on monthly billing statements, websites and other servicing aspects so borrowers don’t feel like they’re being outsourced.

With the emphasis on the client’s logo rather than its own, LoanCare promotes the borrower relationship.

Its new mobile platform allows consumers

Gene Ross touts the firm’s excellent technology.

to make a payment and view all past payments as well as “snap and scan” their mortgage payments.

“They write the mortgage payment and then take a picture of it. We get it in our back office and make the payment,” Ross said. “No one else in the subservicing industry has that technology.”

– Virginia Lascara

Medical Staffing Solutions, USA Founded 2008 Business type Provides staffing to government and local health systems Based Norfolk Website medicalstaffingsolutionsusa.com Revenue 78 percent growth from 2011 to 2013 Employees 52 in 2011, 75 in 2012, 89 in 2013

As the health care industry begins to embrace technology, so does Medical Staffing Solutions.

“You’ll go out of the business if you don’t stay on top of the changes,” said Simeon Fuller, founder, president and CEO of MSS. The Norfolk-based medical staffing company changed its name in 2013 from Medical X-Ray Staffing to present itself as a more diversified company as it grew beyond just X-ray-related staffing.

What started out as a company with a focus in diagnostic medical imaging now delivers its services and professional medical film duplication to legal firms, private hospitals, military treatment facilities, medical centers, physician and dental offices, specialty clinics, urgent care centers, diagnostic centers, correction markets and sports medicine markets.

Staffing services include per diem, locum tenens, travel contracts and permanent placements.

In addition to allied health staffing, ancillary care staffing and dental staffing, MSS provides professional medical film duplication. Recently, the company added a technical department to help health care providers with online health

records.

This is the company’s second year on the Roaring 20 list.

Fuller was the manager of Medical X-Ray Staffing Solutions before he purchased the company in 2008, right before the downfall of the economy. He brought on Leon Johnson as his chief of operations, who Fuller said has played a pivotal role in the company’s growth.

At that time the company primarily offered services to Bon Secours, Sentara and Riverside.

“When the economy tanked, Sentara was our largest customer,” Fuller said. “They made an announcement saying they were going to handle business differently and at that point we knew they were talking about us.”

As Sentara cut back, Bon Secours picked up the slack, helping to level out business. Eager to gain more stability, Fuller went to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital to offer the company’s services.

“Once I got there, they told me that’s not how you offer your services to the government,” Fuller said.

Determined to add the Department of Defense as a client, he went back to the office and learned how to properly win a government contract.

“Once we offered our services to the government, we started picking up growth,” Fuller said.

“Now, the Department of Defense is our biggest customer.”

In the past year, the company has hired more employees to help with growth.

“Before, employees were wearing multiple hats,” he said. “Now we’ve hired more employees that are specialists.”

President Simeon Fuller said the company really began to grow when the DoD became a customer.

The company now has nearly 100 employees, almost double the number in 2011, including newly hired employees with experience in medical IT and medical billing and coding.

As medical systems open up to electronic records, MSS will be able to serve their IT needs, installing hardware and providing software support.

Hospital systems and government facilities that want offsite medical coders to help speed the billing and reimbursement process can use MSS, Fuller said.

“We thought we needed to diversify and provide more than just staffing to give us a wider base,” he said. “We don’t want to be a one-trick pony.”

– Virginia Lascara

NOVEMBER 2014 » INSIDE BUSINESS » 9

Phoenix Group of Virginia Inc. Founded 2008 Business type Government contracting, product sales Based Chesapeake Website www.phoenix-group.com Revenue $7.8 million in 2011, $8.2 million in 2012, $9.6 million in 2013 Employees 53 in 2011, 58 in 2012, 67 in 2013

Outside the Phoenix Group of Virginia Inc.’s conference room is a map of the world painted to the wall; company red “X” logos mark locations of current contracts.

In the U.S. and around the globe, a lot of open cities are ripe for Phoenix logos, said Ron Verostek, chief executive of the contracting firm, specializing in project management and providing customized safety and training equipment. During the next five years, he expects to see more logos, fewer open cities.

The world of government contracting can appear cutthroat, especially in today’s economic climate. Clients are more prone now to seek new bidders as they keep a keen eye on the bottom line, in many cases more so than their watch on work quality. On time and under budget is the mantra.

“To be the low bidder is an essential factor, even if it’s considered best value,” Verostek said.

“Even though you have the best value, you have to be the low bidder to win.”

But Verostek said such an environment also

offers plenty of opportunities. Incumbent bidders no longer have a lock on existing contracts, meaning small firms such as Phoenix can ink new deals.

Meanwhile, this time of tight government contracts means firms have to consider alternatives and develop new services in order to survive. They can’t just rely on government work anymore.

“We hope to grow our product sales as well as our professional support,” Verostek said. “We’re working on growing our commercial market place.”

Phoenix is looking to expand its services to both nongovernmental clients and foreign government clients. Currently, about 75 percent of Phoenix contracts are with the Department of Defense – mostly the Navy. Phoenix does some work with the Coast Guard and NATO, but Versostek said one potential growth market is serving foreign navies.

Additionally, Phoenix creates secure storage solutions, designed for use onboard Navy and Coast Guard ships. But these products do have civilian applications, which Verostek said could be used by industrial clients. Product sales only represent about 10 percent of Phoenix’s business, but Verostek described the potential of increasing his company’s client base as being very attractive.

Since starting, Phoenix Group has recorded steady year-to-year growth, which is by design.

In 2013, Phoenix reported $9.6 million in reve-

Ron Verostek, CEO, predicts revenue will top $30 million by 2019.

nues. Two years earlier, Phoenix reported revenues of $7.8 million. But Verostek said the company is primed for growth.

It can quickly expand to meet any contract. He also expects to expand into international markets, serving foreign clients, and open offices in San Diego and Washington, D.C., as Phoenix increases its contracts.

“We expect to be over $30 million in revenue by 2019,” Verostek said.

– Ben Werner

ProLog Inc. Founded 2000 Business type Logistics and aviation maintenance Based Virginia Beach Website www.pro-loginc.com Revenue 52.5 percent growth from 2012 to 2013 Employees 124 in 2011, 184 in 2012, 211 in 2013

Hanse Hill left the U.S. Navy nearly a decade ago, after 17 years of service. Hill had two job offers waiting for him on dry land, but he turned both of them down.

“I was just finding my way and I knew I always had this entrepreneurial spirit that my parents instilled in me,” Hill said.

So, in 2005, Hill purchased ProLog Inc., a company of four that performed a small piece of a Maritime Administration contract for the Department of Transportation.

A lot has changed since then. ProLog now has more than 200 employees. In 2009 ProLog was named the fastest-growing small business in the commonwealth by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. And 2014 will mark the third year ProLog has made Inside Business’ Roaring 20 list of fastest-growing companies in Hampton Roads.

Today, the company focuses on four core services: technical data management, aviation operations and logistics, supply and logistics management and administrative support services.

Aviation logistics was added in 2010 and ProLog entered the information technology sector in 2012. With an eye on international markets, Hill said, he’s most interested in expanding Pro-

Log’s IT acumen.

“The new buzzword is unified communication,” Hill said.

Using ShoreTel Communicator services, ProLog is able to “tie phone systems into Outlook and other email programs, bringing a new level of efficiency and innovation to customers by saving both time and money.”

It’s one of the fastest-growing areas, both in the industry and at ProLog, and Hill plans to capitalize on it.

An emphasis in IT also means ProLog has been able to not only diversify its offerings but its clientele – a practice that’s becoming more and more necessary as government contracts and defense spending diminish.

“Before, we were making our focus on the federal government,” Hill said, “but now we’re looking at local government and businesses as well.”

ProLog now works with defense contractors as well as military and federal agencies, but has added civilian organizations to that list, from local municipal governments and law firms to real estate companies and fire departments.

“It’s all about trying to stay diversified during these hard times, especially with sequestration on its way,” Hill said.

Hill is counting on diversification to help gird the company against a second round of sequestration slated to hit in 2016.

Hill admits that even a diversified set of offerings won’t absorb the impact completely.

That’s why ProLog has maintained a recession-resistant strategy from the beginning.

“Lean and mean operations,” Hill said, has

Hanse Hill says ProLog grows but remains lean.

been a key factor in ProLog’s success in uncertain times. With the exception of computers and printers, nothing in the ProLog office is new. All furniture is used. Travel expenses are kept to a minimum “without sacrificing the comfort and safety of employees.”

Hill’s key is to treat the company’s and the customer’s money as if it were his own.

“That’s why we always strive our best to buy the best quality product at the best price, for everyone,” Hill said, “for ourselves and for our clients, whether a government or commercial entity.”

– Reynolds Hutchins

10 » INSIDE BUSINESS » NOVEMBER 2014

Reed Integration Founded 2002 Business type Government services Based Suffolk Website www.reedintegration.com Revenue 208 percent growth since 2011 Employees 15 in 2011, 21 in 2012, 24 in 2013

President and CEO of Reed Integration Inc., Rebecca Reed, continues to move her company forward by valuing employees and carefully selecting a diverse set of clients.

With a background in aerospace and nuclear technology from the University of Alabama, Reed worked on various government contracts that she said no one else wanted at the time. The experience gave her perspective on what could be done better.

With knowledge and experience, Reed started the company in Alabama in 2002 and then reincorporated in Virginia in 2003. Vice President Steve Wendell, who has experience in engineering and spent 25 years at Newport News Shipbuilding, went full-time in 2007.

Starting out in risk management training, the company is now known for its systems engineering expertise and provides services in risk analysis, acquisition engineering, and process assessment and improvement.

While mostly a federal government contractor, the firm also works with state government and private businesses. Clients include NASA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Virginia Port Authori-

ty, Northrop Grumman and Fort Knox.

The company has started working with health and human services such as the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

For Reed, the biggest milestones are represented by the employees. The company’s headquarters are in Suffolk, but Reed has employees in Huntsville, Ala., at the Naval Research Lab in Alexandria and individual employees in Texas, Colorado, Minnesota and Maryland. The staff has increased from 15 in 2011 to 24 in 2013, and seven more employees have been added over the past couple of months.

Over the past three years, the firm has experienced 448 percent growth. Annual revenues continue to increase, going from $2.5 million in 2012 to $4.5 million in 2013, and the firm is expecting a projected $6 million at the end of this year.

Reed said the company is selective about what it goes after and where it goes. Staying diversified across different federal agencies allows it to focus on contracts that value people. Its priorities are its clients and making sure its employees have a career development path.

“Our basic philosophy is to make it a great environment for everybody, to make the company a good place for people to work, to keep the employees happy, which will then make the customers happy,” Reed said.

To encourage a collaborative approach and more of a team environment, the organizational

Rebecca Reed says her company is not hierarchical.

structure of the company is designed like a net, with corporate in the middle.

“We are not hierarchical,” Reed said. “Because of that we can turn around quotes and the information our clients need faster. They can count on us.”

The tight-knit community created in the workplace extends itself to their clients so that everyone feels connected. Because of this, Reed has received repeat business from every client.

“We have an incredible team and that has made all the difference,” she said.

– Esther Keane

SOLitude Lake Management Founded 1998 Business type Lake, pond, fisheries and stormwater management company Based Virginia Beach Website www.solitudelakemanagement.com Revenue 55.4 percent increase in gross revenue from 2011 to 2013 Employees 16 in 2011, 22 in 2012, 26 in 2013

There aren’t a lot of companies that are focused on lake, pond, fisheries and stormwater treatment like SOLitude Lake Management, but the competition is stiff relative to demand.

Regardless, the Virginia Beach-based company, created by Kevin Tucker in 1998, has found a way to grow year over year, landing itself on the Inside Business list of fastest-growing companies in Hampton Roads for the second year in a row.

SOLitude’s 55.4 percent growth from 2011 to 2013 is not the result of lowest price offerings.

In fact, Tucker said, he is usually the most expensive option.

“We believe if we try to compete on price, we devalue our business and become a commodity,” he said. “We want to be a value-driven service.”

Instead, Tucker said, the company’s growth is the result of high client retention, which brings in recurring revenue and client referrals that help build the client base.

“I think definitely there’s a lot of increase in demand because of the need to manage stormwater,” he said, “from increasing government regulations.”

SOLitude Lake Management has 31 employees and satellite offices in nine states. Locations include Newport News; Richmond; Fredericksburg; Charlottesville; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; Newark, Del.; Gaithersburg, Md.; Millsboro, Del.; Avondal, Pa.; and Cherry Hill, N.J. Every state has its own regulations.

Though Tucker has said in the past that he’d like to grow the business into a national company, he’s focused now on better saturating the markets he’s in rather than expanding.

“The more we spread out, the more inefficient it is to do the work and more costly,” he said.

The company offers comprehensive lake and pond management strategies such as GPS lake mapping, water quality testing and monitoring, integrated fisheries management and a wide range of additional services designed to restore and preserve ecological balance in the aquatic resources it manages.

And though more customers want their fisheries to be healthy as well as have their lake or pond look good, algae is still the No. 1 issue for the industry.

“Algae grow in water because there’s too much phosphorus and nitrogen, which are a product of runoff from stormwater,” Tucker said. “All this surface runoff loads water bodies with phosphorus and nitrogen and in some places it’s unattractive, in others it’s toxic.”

To prevent algae, SOLitude Lake Management looks for the source of the pollution and tries to either stop or filter the runoff.

“Plants make good filters,” Tucker said. “Also you want to make sure you don’t have a lot of erosion where water flows.”

Kevin Tucker praises his clients and his employees.

The company has 1,700 service customers, which range from golf courses to homeowners associations, and project prices vary. It’s the customers and the employees Tucker credits for his success.

“The other big thing that I feel like doesn’t get highlighted enough is how important the people are,” he said. “The clients and the staff are all a result of having excellence in both. We have good, knowledgeable people and likewise, we have good clients. Without people on both sides, none of this works.”

– Lydia Wheeler

12 » INSIDE BUSINESS » NOVEMBER 2014

VersAbility Resources Founded 1953 Business type 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports people with disabilities and veterans through employee placement Website versability.org Revenue $27.8 million in 2011, $30.8 million in 2012, $32.3 million in 2013 Employees 871 in 2011, 939 in 2012, 981 in 2013

Over 70 percent of people with disabilities nationwide are unemployed. It’s a staggering statistic VersAbility Resources is trying to change.

“When we started, we only served people with mental disabilities,” said Kasia Grzelkowski, company president and CEO. “We now serve people with physical disabilities, people who are deaf and blind, and we’re also actively reaching out to veterans, especially those who might have returned differently able from service.”

Now, the Hampton-based nonprofit has 1,020 employees and from 2011 to 2013, the company’s gross revenues climbed 16.2 percent, landing the nonprofit on the list of fastest-growing companies in Hampton Roads for the second year running. The growth, Grzelkowski said, is a direct result of VersAbility’s entrepreneurial spirit.

“We’ve been consciously working to diversify our lines of business,” she said. “We’ve been very successful with our federal contracts.”

VersAbility is the prime ship-provisioning services contractor in the U.S., handling the food

provision for nearly every home portage ship at six ports on the East and West Coasts, and recently took over operations at Pearl Harbor. Employees make $19.10 an hour.

Locally, VersAbility has expanded its switchboard at Langley Air Force Base, becoming the hub for all East Coast Air Force calls, added a new federal contract handling base-wide custodial services at the Wallops Island Surface Combat Systems Center and opened its first UPS franchise store at Fort Eustis.

“Most people don’t think a nonprofit would be running a UPS store,” Grzelkowski said. “In 2015, we’ll be adding a second store at Langley Air Force Base, and we’ll be looking at a further expansion in the future at Naval Station Norfolk and Oceana.”

The company also hit its stride last year in Xray digitization, digitizing almost 10 million images for Alcoa.

“This was a new line of business we created,” Grzelkowski said. “Alcoa had a need … and VersAbility Resources developed the solution for the aerospace industry. We’re running three shifts and have about 60 employees.”

Though the company is making millions, Grzelkowski said all profits generated are reinvested.

“We have a low overhead of 9 percent,” she said. “And we have certain areas of our business that structurally lose money in Virginia,” including a day care center for children with disabilities ages 0 to 3 and housing rates.

VersAbility is about to build its 10th home for

Kasia Grzelkowski is company president and CEO.

people with disabilities in York County. The company hopes to break ground to build a four-bedroom house, which will have in-house aids, before the end of the calendar year.

“We’re working to create an array of different work that maximizes people’s talents and allow them to succeed in long-term employment opportunities,” Grzelkowski said.

– Lydia Wheeler

Virginia Eye Consultants Founded 1963 Business type Surgical/specialty eye care practice.

Based Norfolk Website www.virginiaeyeconsultants.com Revenue Practice has seen a 26.4 percent increase in gross revenue from 2011 to 2013 Employees 103 in 2011, 111 in 2012 and 126 in 2013

As a medical and surgical ophthalmology specialist, Virginia Eye Consultants is striving to be what the Ritz-Carlton is to luxury hotels – worldclass.

“Our core service model is based on the RitzCarlton Leadership Center principles,” said Karen Spencer, the company’s CEO. “We receive training on an annual basis. Our business model and core values are all structured around the core values the Ritz-Carlton employs to run its business.”

And so far, it’s working.

The Norfolk-based surgical and specialty eye care practice, which has a patient concierge, has seen a 26.4 percent growth from 2011 to 2013, earning recognition from Inside Business as one of the fastest-growing companies in Hampton Roads for the third year running.

Since Dec. 31, the VEC staff has grown from 113 to 152 employees and the company is expected to grow again in 2015.

“I think a lot of our growth can be attributed to our relationships,” Spencer said. “We have strategic relationships, and we manage those rela-

tionships by doing the right thing – being worldclass in everything we do, both clinical and surgical.”

VEC has offices in Norfolk, Hampton, Suffolk and a small half-office in Smithfield, and there are plans to open a fourth satellite location in Virginia Beach in February. That office will need eight to 10 employees to start.

“It closes the geographic footprint on the area we serve,” Spencer said. “The Virginia Beach office, particularly the office we’re looking at, allows us to provide services in a good geographic spread.”

Spencer said VEC is still negotiating the office space, so she could not reveal its location.

In the last year, the company has added three new providers – two internal optometrists who assist with post-operative medical care for patients – and Dr. Jay Starling, an ophthalmologist, known for being a pioneer in cataract and refractive surgery procedures and techniques. He was the first eye surgeon in the area to perform the “no-stitch” cataract surgery, she said.

“We’re adding two more MDs in 2015 to help accommodate the cornea and glaucoma subspecialities,” Spencer said.

As a medical and surgical specialty practice, VEC does not offer primary eye care. Instead, the practice collaborates with primary eye care practices that refer patients to VEC for issues including glaucoma, retinal problems, a muscle issue in the eye area, a trauma or cornea abrasion, and cataract surgery.

“We represent all subspecialities within oph-

Since Dec. 31, the staff has grown from 113 to 152.

thalmology – cornea, glaucoma, retina, oculoplastics [eyelid and muscle surgery] and comprehensive medical eye care,” Spencer said. “We also deal with diabetic eye disease and macular degeneration.”

Spencer has been on staff since 2008 and has played a key role in the company’s success. With Chief Financial Officer Nancy O’Toole, she reorganized the business to free physicians from having to perform administrative duties. Since then, the firm has bolstered its referral network, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of its business.

– Lydia Wheeler