2013 Small Business of the Year Awards

2013 small business of the year

awards

LESS THAN 50 EMPLOYEES?

B2 » INSIDE BUSINESS » MAY 13, 2013

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

INCREASE PROFITS

BY INCREASING Small Business of GOOD HEALTH. the Year Awards Less sick leave. More productivity. More profit.

Small Business Be Well is a website for employers who own or manage companies with fifty employees or less. Devised to provide FREE tools for establishing and promoting a wellness program in the workplace, SmallBusinessBeWell.com has templates, resources, and links to a wealth of information on improving the health of everyone on your team.

For YOUR EMPLOYEES: • Online toolkits – quit smoking, eat healthier, exercise more For YOU: • Toolkits and plans to start a group wellness program at your workplace • How to offer incentives to encourage you and your co-workers

Log on TODAY and read about what local small businesses are doing to encourage employee wellness and increase profits.

SmallBusinessBeWell.com

This service was supported by Grant Number 09-226 from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s State Health Access to Insurance Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents are solely the responsibility of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the views of HRSA/SHAP

The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads have recognized small businesses with the annual Small Business of the Year Awards for 29 years.

A panel of judges gathered again this year to select a business from each city on the Southside and – new this year – one on the Peninsula to present with an award. The businesses were evaluated based on financial performance and business history, staff training and motivation, community involvement, business plan, growth, and customer service and satisfaction.

In addition, awards are presented to the Top 10 to Watch – 10 companies that show signs of significant growth and potential, as well as awards for leadership and entrepreneurship.

The event When Thursday, May 23, 12-2 p.m.

Where Virginia Beach Convention Center Guest speaker Dr. Stephen Scoper, vice president of Virginia Eye Consultants, the chamber’s 2011 Small Business of the Year Tickets $35 members, $50 others To register Visit http://events.HamptonRoadsChamber.com For information Contact Shirley Core at score@hrccva.com or 664-2535

The contents

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Chesapeake Personal Touch Services Inc. Norfolk Strickland & Jones PC Peninsula Triquetra Technologies Inc.

2013 Impressions in Print Leadership Award Zack Miller, managing director of Hatch YEA! Young Entrepreneur Award Brad Scott, owner of Cetan Corp

Portsmouth Hampton Roads Community Health Center

2013 Top 10 to Watch

Suffolk Reed Integration Inc.

Meet the judges

Virginia Beach 360 IT PARTNERS

The sponsors The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce wishes to thank the sponsors for this event:

Media sponsor

Presenting sponsor

Visit www.insidebiz.com and click

Business For Sale

Inside Business The Hampton Roads Business Journal

Leadership Award Sponsor Small Business partner

Gold Sponsor Optima Health Plans

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

MAY 13, 2013 » INSIDE BUSINESS » B3

CHESAPEAKE

HARRY GERWIEN

Owners Stephen and Lorrie, right, Elgin get involved in every job. Their daugther, Stephanie Elgin Dudley, left, is executive assistant and plans to own the company.

Personal Touch Services Inc.

BY NORA FIRESTONE

There’s no satisfaction in witnessing the crushing sadness of a distraught homeowner after a damaging flood, fire or other home disaster.

But there is a reward, according to Stephen and Lorrie Elgin; it’s helping them through the seemingly overwhelming process of restoration and rebuilding to a renewed sense of normalcy.

“The best part about all of it,” Lorrie Elgin said, “is that in the end, you get to see them happy again.”

To the Elgins, owners of Personal Touch Services Inc. in Chesapeake, business is as personal as family is.

Their company motto, “We give you the personal touch you deserve,” sums up its founding principles, Stephen Elgin said.

He and Lorrie get involved in every job, ensuring that customers can reach them and that everyone is satisfied.

“We make sure they get treated the way we would want to be treated,” he said.

Although the couple had started the company in 1989 based on Stephen Elgin’s talent for working with his hands and the recession-proof nature of doing restoration for insurance companies, it took only two years for them to begin

adding rebuild services upon customer request.

By ’93, per the demand of happy clients, the company expanded into home renovations and remodeling, which then led to the addition of commercial construction.

Today, Personal Touch Services employs 13, four more than last year, including their daughter, Stephanie Elgin Dudley, who started cleaning firedamage scenes at age 15. Through high school and college, Dudley worked both in the field and in the office, cultivating an understanding of the scope and responsibilities of running a service-centric business. Now the executive assistant, Dudley plans to own the company someday.

“I’ve worked at a couple of different places and I can’t imagine calling those a career or calling those home,”

she said.

The Elgins value their employees and demonstrate that with staff recognition and bonuses, by asking for goaloriented input and by providing support for professional growth through frequent customer service meetings, trainings and certification programs, which benefit the staff, the customers and, ultimately, the company.

The Elgins also value community involvement. They encourage volunteerism and contribute generously to employees’ families’ fundraising efforts.

Ultimately, “our guys take care of our customers because they know we take care of them,” Dudley said. “And the happier we make our employees, the happier they’re going to be to talk about our company.”

Amy Barcroft, office manager, agrees. She noted that the feeling prevails company-wide and that mutual respect and support is key to helping employees be their personal and professional best.

“I can speak highly of Steve and Lorrie, and of the company, from experience,” Barcroft said. “It’s not just a job that we’re getting paid for. It’s a job IB that comes from the heart.”

about the company Owners Stephen and Lorrie Elgin Main location 936 Professional Place, Suite A-9, Chesapeake Phone 467-7777 Website www. personaltouchservice. com Company philosophy We guarantee our work. Our employees and our customers are like family to us.

Employees 13 Growth From nine to 13 employees; financial growth of 15 to 20 percent in past year

B4 » INSIDE BUSINESS » MAY 13, 2013

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

NORFOLK

HARRY GERWIEN

CPA Jimmy Strickland, right, founded the business as a sole proprietorship in 1979. Today there are 26 associates including partner Stephen Jones, left, also a CPA.

Strickland & Jones PC

BY NORA FIRESTONE

Recognition of the premise that it’s easier to keep a great client than it is to attract a new one doesn’t preclude the fact that that’s easier said than done. Acknowledgement of this paradigm is paramount at Strickland & Jones PC, a Norfolk-based certified public accounting and consulting firm.

“I really think that our firm’s strength is our level of experience and the personalized service that we render,” said co-owner and CPA Jimmy Strickland of his team of certified professionals and support associates.

Strickland, a certified public accountant, founded the business as a sole proprietorship from his Norfolk home in 1979. Thirty-four years later, the company has 26 associates, including partner Stephen M. Jones, also a CPA; two offices, in Norfolk and Virginia Beach; and an array of professional-service offerings ranging from accounting, bookkeeping and tax advisory and preparation, to financial and business consulting, estate planning, valuations, and management advisory and strategic planning.

The overarching mission, Strickland said, is to work with individuals and

businesses, offering tailored solutions they can trust, to help them achieve their particular financial goals.

In turn, “we’ve always found that if we keep our clients’ best interest foremost, then our best interest will also be served,” he said.

“Our clients are our success,” his wife, Gale Strickland, said.

The firm couldn’t provide its depth of expertise and integrity without the exceptional personnel, she said.

“We have to hire well and keep them happy,” she said. “It all works together.”

The firm strives for a team approach, with a “level playing field” of mutual respect for the value each associate brings to the table, the couple said. They manage by committee, for an all-voices-matter environment, and they facilitate ongoing continu-

ing education and social events to foster strong professional growth and relationships.

And the firm’s parking lot isn’t full of accountants’ cars on the weekends, even during tax season. Working weekends isn’t allowed at Strickland & Jones, as associates deserve the family time and rest that render them spirited and well prepared for the week, Strickland said.

“The way we treat our associates really comes back to us, many times over,” Gale Strickland said.

The couple also said they believe that giving back is an important part of corporate citizenship. Their own nonprofit, Creative Global Relief, assists deserving families in need in Malawi, Africa, and the whole firm participates in local community initiatives such as Adopt-a-Spot stewardship of The Hague and the annual CPA Day of Service.

Recognition of his company’s role within the community is affirming, Jimmy Strickland said.

“For us to be chosen means a lot to IB us,” he said of the award.

about the company Owners James V. Strickland Jr. and Stephen M. Jones Main location 749 Boush St., Norfolk Phone 627-7672 Website www. stricklandandjones. com Company philosophy The mission is to provide clients with the best financial services and sound professional guidance possible.

Employees 26 associates, more during tax season Growth Approximately 5 percent revenue growth in past year

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

MAY 13, 2013 » INSIDE BUSINESS » B5

PENINSULA

HARRY GERWIEN

Tom and Terri Richards started Triquetra Technologies in 2008 in Minnesota and moved the business later to Virginia.

Triquetra Technologies Inc.

BY SUSAN SMIGIELSKI ACKER

It is said knowledge is power. Hampton-based Triquetra Technologies Inc. is in the business of making knowledge more powerful for the Department of Defense and other government agencies.

The company was started in June 2008 by Terri Richards in her Minnesota home. Her husband, Tom, joined her in December 2008. They earned their first big contract and relocated to Virginia.

In December 2010, the company received a large contract with Intelligent Software Solutions that allowed it to grow to 18 employees. It employs 21 today.

Triquetra earned $6 million in revenue in 2011 and experienced a $1 million dip in 2012, which Terri Richards, now the company’s CFO, attributed to the government redirecting resources.

“We lost a couple of positions,” Terri Richards said. “In the next fiscal year, we gained them back, and we had a contract expire and it was not extended.”

The company’s main component is knowledge management, said Dave Flick, program manager of the Knowledge Management Training Institute, a business unit within the firm.

Retired and former military personnel make up most of the employees.

Many work in Afghanistan coordinat-

ing information between different operations in the mission, said Flick, a retired U.S. Navy commander who previously worked with NATO. The Knowledge Management Training Institute offers another component.

“Information is useful only if it is actionable,” he said. “We train people how to manage the information and for them to provide it to the right people in order to make an informed decision.

“We coordinate and create team building so that all are on the same sheet of music,” he said. “We teach them how to use information once they get it.”

Ever-changing technology is a challenge. Flick said while technology is helpful, “it will never solve the problem of proper information sharing.”

The human factor plays an important role, he said. That is where Triquetra Technologies and the Knowledge Management Training Institute come in.

“There is too much relying on technology such as email,” he said. “With technology we are missing out on the face-toface communication. It is hard to build

trust and collaboration that way. That is viable for the job in order to function.

“Technology can help in the knowledge program,” he said. “But it is the people piece that is needed.”

The Department of Homeland Security was created to ensure information is shared among various intelligence and law enforcement, but it does not always happen, Flick said. He believes those working in intelligence and law enforcement hold back from sharing information because budget cuts create a fear of job loss. He pointed out that cooperation helps agencies be more effective and secure jobs.

The Department of Defense is not the only government agency the company will continue to work for. The company is seeking state contracts with the Virginia Department of Transportation and other local agencies.

The large number of people retiring from the workforce creates a greater need for the company, he said.

“There are many who have much education and experience. They are walking away to go fishing. Companies need to figure out how to harness that information so they are not re-creating the wheel,” he said.

Flick said the company provides help to veterans’ hospitals, Wounded Warriors and foodbanks. “That is very imIB portant to us,” he said.

about the company Owners Thomas and Terri Richards, CEO and CFO, respectively Main location One Enterprise Pkwy., Suite 330, Hampton Phone 778-8787 Website www.t2-inc. com Company philosophy To recruit, train, deploy and manage the most skilled experts in the world in direct support of warfighters and warfighter operations.

Employees 21 Growth Revenue of $5 million in 2012, up from $1 million in 2010, and expected revenue in 2013 of $10 million

B6 » INSIDE BUSINESS » MAY 13, 2013

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

PORTSMOUTH

Hampton Roads Community Health Center

BY TERESA TALERICO

Often misdiagnosed as a “free clinic,” the Hampton Roads Community Health Center in Portsmouth is anything but. Many people don’t understand the distinction between community health centers and their no-cost counterparts, said CEO Barbara Willis. The HRCHC, which has provided health and dental care for low-income residents since 1995, still finds itself explaining the difference.

For starters, she said, free clinics typically don’t charge their patients.

This center charges a nominal fee based on a sliding scale.

Free clinics rely mostly on donations. The HRCHC has three main sources of income: patient fees, funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and various other grants.

And unlike free clinics, which use a rotating roster of volunteer physicians, HRCHC employs a regular team of doctors. They include a chief medical officer, pediatrician and an obstetrician/gynecologist. The center also has a lab for blood tests, urinalysis and hemoglobin screenings.

“Our doctors are either salaried or contracted to see patients on a consistent basis,” she said. “So the doctor that you are assigned to, that is your physician. In a free clinic, a cardiologist who volunteers providing primary care may devote one day or several days. It varies. There’s not as much consistency in terms of ‘This is my

doctor.’ ” The 16,000-square-foot facility, housed in a renovated former BI-LO grocery store, serves a range of clients, from public housing residents to the working poor. Homeless patients increasingly include families who live with relatives, shelters or in their cars because the household’s breadwinners lost jobs in the recession’s wake.

“Our challenge is getting the word out and getting people to understand what’s right in their neighborhood: accessible, affordable health care in a clean, safe environment,” Willis said.

“And you can have insurance and still come here. We are partially funded by the federal government to serve the uninsured and underinsured population.”

One of those populations is growing.

Before the economic downturn, between 35 and 40 percent of the center’s patients had no insurance. Today, at least half of them are uninsured.

The HRCHC also operates in Norfolk, at 35th and Granby, on Shore

HARRY GERWIEN

Barbara Willis, CEO of the Hampton Roads Community Health Center in Portsmouth, said the center would like a new building.

Drive and at Young Terrace. Those are newer facilities, with two of them opening as recently as December 2012.

In Portsmouth, the center has made do in its converted 1980s building for nearly 20 years.

“One of the things we would love to do in Portsmouth is build a new site,” she said.

The price tag for a state-of-the-art, 20,000-square-foot center is between $5 million and $7 million. But Willis and the 13-member board of directors believe it’s time for the investment.

They’d like to build more comfortable exam rooms, improve access for the disabled and update the facility’s technology capabilities, particularly now that the center’s medical records are paperless.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’re doing very well with what we have,” Willis said, “but this is the 21st century, and so we have sought federal funds and we missed an opportunity for that and now we’re looking from within our board of directors as to what our options would be to have a new facility.”

Many board members have firsthand knowledge of the center’s needs.

About half of them are HRCHC patients.

“It’s a federal requirement,” Willis said. “They become the voice on the board. It’s typical for community health centers.”

Other goals include mental health care, optometry and a computer room for patients who need online health information. The center treats 6,000 patients in Portsmouth and 3,000 in Norfolk. By 2014, Willis expects to have a total of about 10,000 once the newer facilities are more established.

“Once we can get ’em in,” she said, “people will typically stay with us.”

Willis, who joined the center in 2003, has more than 35 years of experience developing health benefit programs, including posts at Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, the Mead Corp., the state health department in Ohio and United Healthcare.

As such, she has an unusual perspective on the Affordable Care Act, which will require most uninsured Americans to enroll in some form of medical coverage by 2014.

She’s confident that most HRCHC patients will stay loyal to the center that has served them for so long.

“Since we have been servicing a lot of these individuals with little or no revenue or funds being generated,” she said, “we would hope they would recognize the service that has been provided to them all along when they did not have insurance and see that we’ll still be providing that full comIB prehensive care.”

@@

Once we can get ’em in, people will typically stay with us.”

BARBARA WILLIS, CEO

about the company Owners Governed by a 13-member board of directors, 51 percent of whom are actual patients of the health center.

Main location 664 Lincoln St., Portsmouth Phone 397-0042 Website www.hrch. org Company philosophy A not-for-profit, comprehensive, primary health care organization, dedicated to providing quality and affordable health services in a safe environment to our communities.

Employees 61 Growth 15 percent increase in employees and 10 percent increase in revenue to almost $4.5 million in the past year

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

MAY 13, 2013 » INSIDE BUSINESS » B7

SUFFOLK

HARRY GERWIEN

Suffolk-based Reed Integration Inc. has employees in Alabama, Minnesota and Florida as well as Virginia. Here in Suffok are Bill LaMarsh, Justin Hornbeck, Becky Reed, Seth Martin, back row, and Steve Waddell.

Reed Integration Inc.

about the company Owner Becky Reed

BY JARED COUNCIL

Reed Integration Inc. might be a small business, but it has served some major clients and has been growing rapidly.

One of its offerings involves management consulting and training, and its customers have included NASA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Virginia Port Authority and Northrop Grumman.

The woman-owned small business also provides systems engineering training and other solutions, and one of its main goals is to help public- and private-firm projects achieve optimal performance results.

“We do a lot of helping everybody do their job better,” said President and CEO Becky Reed.

Reed started the company in 2002 in Alabama, but reincorporated the company in Virginia in 2003. She and Vice President Steve Waddell went full-time with the joint venture in 2007.

Reed has a background in aerospace and nuclear technology and worked on various government contracts. Waddell has a background in engineering and information technology and spent 25 years at Newport News Shipbuilding.

The company’s other core competencies include acquisition excellence, risk insight and business process innovation, Waddell said.

“We’re expanding into cyber security,” Waddell said.

The firm has been growing on several fronts. It had 15 employees in 2011, but now has 22 full-time employees. It has about 15 part-timers.

Annual revenues have more than quadrupled since 2010, going from $856,000 in that year to $3.5 million this year.

Its footprint has been expanding, too.

Last November it opened an office in Alexandria to support a recent contract with the U.S. Navy Research Laboratory valued at just under $4 million.

Reed Integration was headquartered in Portsmouth, but moved to a 7,600-square-foot facility in the Bridgeway Technology Center in Suffolk in April.

The move allows them to expand and enhance their service suite, company officials said, and the facility features a 48-seat center called the Reed Learning Institute.

The relocation also qualifies them for tax rebates through the Suffolk Technology Zone Program, one of the city’s efforts to lure tech companies.

Besides government and commercial clients, the group has also been involved in training individuals.

It has partnered with Old Dominion University, for instance, to offer a project management professional, or PMP, training certificate.

Officials said the training develops skills that apply to IT projects, product design and development and other projects of any size with specific performance, time and funding targets.

Reed Integration has employees in Huntsville, Ala., working on-site at a NASA facility. It also has an employee in Bellechester, Minn., and an employee in Orlando, Fla. “We hope to open an office in South Carolina in the near term,” Waddell said.

The company’s competitors range from large firms, like Booz Allen Hamilton, to smaller ones.

“Any of them that are involved in professional training programs and government contracting on the engineering management side,” Reed said, “those are the ones that we’re up IB against.”

Main location 7007 Harbour View Blvd., Suite 117, Suffolk Phone 541-8032 Website reedintegration.com Company philosophy To create a place where the employees are happy, which means the customers are going to be happy.

Employees 22 fulltime; 15 part-time Growth Revenue grew 40 percent in the past year

B8 » INSIDE BUSINESS » MAY 13, 2013

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

V IRG INIA BE ACH

360IT PARTNERS

BY TERESA TALERICO

Martin Joseph, president of 360IT PARTNERS, keeps a dinosaur in his office.

Last month he introduced it to some visitors at his Virginia Beach company, which provides technology services and “computer geek” assistance for shipbuilders, motorcycle shops, insurance agencies and other Hampton Roads businesses.

“I don’t know why I still have this back here,” Joseph said, reaching behind his desk to retrieve an AT&T Globalyst notebook computer. Built in the mid-1990s, the bulky, slate-gray laptop weighs nearly 7 pounds. Considered lightweight in its day, the Globalyst is now about as sleek as a brontosaurus.

“Look at how heavy this is,” Joseph said with a laugh, gauging the machine’s heft with both hands.

A fossil, for sure. But it’s also a great reminder of how the early bird gets the worm.

“I got started in the business in the late ’80s,” Joseph said. “It was a time when the 8088 PC, the XT, was like the first real IBM computer. Back then, you could really be a computer expert because it was very much an infant industry. I just got started at the right time and kind of grew with it.”

In the process, he learned the value of diversification as Joseph shifted gears from retail customers to the home-office market to commercial clients. He also discovered the power of rebranding from an ambiguous, acronym-based

corporate moniker to a more meaningful name that reflects his company’s circle of IT services and its relationship with customers and employees alike.

Raised in Virginia Beach, Joseph majored in marketing at Norfolk State University, where he put himself through school as a Farm Fresh bag boy who quickly rose to frozen food and dairy.

After graduation, he worked as a night manager at the grocery store. One evening, he met a customer named Darl Anderson, owner of Micro Marketing, a local mom-and-pop computer store. By 1987, Joseph was in charge of Anderson’s sales and marketing.

“He was my mentor,” Joseph said.

“There were things I learned about being a small business that I couldn’t get from college. So those were great lessons and really provided a nice bridge for me.”

On the side, Joseph and two partners – Tom Connelly and Martin Bowers – launched their own business, TOMAR (a fusion of their first names) Management Corp.

“It was no conflict with what we were

HARRY GERWIEN

360IT President Martin A. Joseph, left, rewards employees for the company’s growth. Here he is with Jasmin Rebultan, treasurer, and Aaron Frketich, vice president, who own 10 percent of the company.

doing at Micro Marketing,” he said.

“And we grew it pretty quickly.”

So quickly that by 1992 Joseph flew the nest at Anderson’s and went fulltime with his partners. The company changed its name to TOMAR Computer Station and opened a Chesapeake computer store that catered to the general public.

But Joseph realized that Best Buy, Office Depot and other national retailers would easily dominate the consumer market. So he branched out on his own in 1995, founding TOMAR Computer Integration, which focused on small and medium businesses with networks of five to 25 computers.

“We really wanted to focus on our business customers,” he said. “And that was the beginning of the right formula.”

TOMAR CI merged in 2004 with a firm called CompuGeek, whose specialty was small-office and home-office customers. Joseph retained those clients for a few years, but then narrowed the businesses down to larger clients, aiming for those with networks of up to 300 computers. He also revamped his business model, adopting a proactive, preventive approach to IT services rather than a “break-fix” philosophy.

In 2010 the company got a facelift to reflect that new focus.

“We rebranded as 360IT PARTNERS; we hired a marketing agency to help design our logo. It was a real game changer,” he said.

Surprisingly, the technology company still had a lackluster website. So it updated that, too.

“It’s kind of interesting, right?” he said. “It’s kind of the old adage of the cobbler’s children [who don’t have shoes]. So, in our ‘About Us’ area, we put a bio and a photo of every one of our employees. And they all said, ‘Martin, this is unbelievable; we feel like we’re part of something special.’ Beyond that, I think it really helped elevate us to a higher caliber of client. The name really stood out as something they could identify with.”

Last month the Virginia Chamber of Commerce honored 360IT Partners as one of the 2012 “Fantastic 50” fastestgrowing companies in the state.

Joseph credits his various partners – employees, customers, consultants and others – for fueling that growth. And he rewards them for it. His vice president, Aaron Frketich, and treasurer, Jasmin Rebultan, own 10 percent of the company. Joseph gifted them each a 5 percent share.

“By being able to build a team, I’ve got a few layers of people I can really count on,” he said. “Before, I was the guy who wore all the hats. This is not the Martin Joseph award; this is the IB 360IT PARTNERS award.”

about the company Owners Martin Joseph, president; Aaron Frketich, vice president; and Jasmin Rebultan, treasurer Main location 5241 Cleveland St., Suite 101, Virginia Beach Phone 499-6761 Website www.360itpartners. com Company philosophy To reliably deliver outstanding IT systems and support services that improve productivity, uptime and profitability.

Number of employees 23 Growth 24.2 percent in revenue in past year; went from 15 to 23 employees

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

MAY 13, 2013 » INSIDE BUSINESS » B9

2 0 13 Y O U N G E N T R E P R E N E U R A W A R D W I N N E R

Brad Scott, Owner, Cetan Corp Brad Scott, owner of Cetan Corp, has been working to expand the client base of his company in Hampton Roads. Many of the company’s clients are large companies scattered across the U.S.

BY TERESA TALERICO

As the grandson of a Chickasaw Nation Hall of Famer, Brad Scott seems to be channeling his go-getting granny’s youthful ambition, both in the Native American community and beyond.

This year, Scott, the 39-year-old owner of Chesapeake technology firm Cetan Corp, has won the 2013 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

In 1929, two generations earlier, 14-year-old Pearl Carter Scott became the youngest solo pilot in America. As a young woman, the Oklahoma aviator was a stunt pilot. Four decades later, after her children were grown, she became one of the Chickasaw Nation’s first tribal legislators, with a platform of improving health care in the community.

“The biggest thing she instilled in us was to never give up, don’t let anything hold you back, regardless of experience, education, upbringing, race, sex, age, any of those things,” Brad Scott said of his grandmother.

He apparently took those words to heart. After nine years in the U.S. Army and National Guard, the Winchester native honed his IT skills at software firms both large and small, including BMC Software. In 2007, armed with a little knowledge and a lot of ancestral pluck, he founded Cetan Corp.

Four years later, Inc. Magazine declared Scott the No. 1 Native American Entrepreneur of 2011. That same year, Cetan ranked No. 119 in the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing U.S. companies.

It also earned a spot as the best IT services company in Virginia.

Cetan’s roster of clients is impressive, including the likes of IBM, Estee Lauder, Williams Sonoma, the IRS, the U.S. Army and the FBI. Because of that national focus, some of the company’s 20 employees are actually based throughout the U.S., or local staff members are traveling to customers nationwide, from California to Arizona to Michigan to New York.

“We really are all over the United States,” he said. “Every Sunday and Monday morning, our consultants are on airplanes to go see our clients and work with them.”

But Scott wants to bring more of that business home to Hampton Roads.

“We deal with a lot of Fortune 100

about the company Owner Brad Scott Main location 1001 Scenic Pkwy., Suite 203, Chesapeake Phone 548-6420 Website www. cetancorp.com Company philosophy From Cetan Corp’s YEA application: “The name Cetan derives from hetá or “hawk” in Native American mythology. Cetan Corp honors our namesake by applying speed, dedication and vision as core guiding principles and as qualities that we strive to bring to every client relationship.”

Employees 20 Growth Revenue of more than $8.46 million in 2011 and $11.43 million in 2012 and added two employees during that time.

HARRY GERWIEN

and Fortune 500 clients,” he said. “A very small percentage of our customers are based here in Hampton Roads.

That’s one of the main reasons we decided to build our corporate footprint here about two years ago, is to expand that presence. And we have been bringing that expertise of working with very large organizations to more midmarket [clients] locally.”

Though smaller than Cetan’s traditional clients, those local companies are just as progressive as the larger corporations when it comes to their technology needs, Scott said. He cited the example of RDS Recycling & Disposal Solutions in Portsmouth.

“They’re very innovative and forward-thinking – not ‘How do we fix this just so we can get to the end of the day?’ It’s ‘How do we do this so five

years from now we’re going to be bigger and better?’ ” In other words, Scott wants his clients to soar.

In fact, Cetan distinguishes itself from other IT firms by traits derived from its corporate totem: a hawk.

The name “Cetan” actually has roots in a Native American word for the majestic creature.

And Scott models his business on speed, dedication and vision, all traits embodied by the hawk.

“We’re 100 percent client-focused, which I think a lot of people say, but we’re also very results-oriented,” he said. “As the people who know me know, if I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it – and do it well.”

IB Grandma would be proud.

B10 » INSIDE BUSINESS » MAY 13, 2013

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

2 0 13 I M P R E S S I O N S I N P R I N T L E A D E R S H I P A W A R D

Zack Miller, Managing Director, Hatch Zack Miller created Hatch to assist startup companies.

So far nine companies have gone through the program, including three that are on the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 Top 10 to Watch list.

BY NORA FIRESTONE

At 29, a casually dressed but highly focused agent of Generation Y asks an entire generation, “Why?” Why wait for someone else to create your job, Zack Miller challenges. Why position yourself to rely on government funding, he contests.

Perhaps, Miller poses, too many members of the Hampton Roads talent pool have been so intent on job security within one of the region’s top, government-dependent industries that they’ve discounted the rewards born of successful entrepreneurship.

In turn, he has a futuristic vision of his own, recognizing Hampton Roads’ potential as a leading technology hub.

At some point Miller assumed a selfimposed challenge: to cultivate the most promising talent he could find within an environment of support and burgeoning opportunity right here in Hampton Roads.

His mission officially launched in 2012 as Hatch, a Norfolk-based technology business accelerator designed to take a few select startups and their founders, in two sessions annually, from fledgling to full flight.

Comprising some 100 business mentors, 12 investors and 40 associated co-founders, Hatch has helped develop nine companies to date. Three made the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 Top 10 to Watch list.

Gearing up for Hatch’s next fourmonth round, Miller, recipient of this year’s Impressions in Print Leadership Award, accommodated an impromptu Skype session for a glimpse into his day.

His busy “off”-season schedule still encompasses a daily office-arrival time of about 6:30 a.m., followed by immediate consumption of some 100 electronic messages and a full plate of interviews, application reviews, reference-checking, committee meetings, book-writing and more.

As the T-shirt-clad entrepreneur glanced around his office for Ashebrooke, his beagle, his haircut whispered volumes, part close-crop intensely business and part rebel spike.

Reflecting on the impetus for Hatch, Miller said, “I just saw a huge hurdle for early-stage companies to get recognition and support.”

He saw the supply of talent and fresh ideas on one side of the picture and the demand for a new, economically viable channel for area business de-

about the company Main location 111 Granby St., Norfolk Phone 295-8635 Contact zack@ hatchnorfolk.com Website www. hatchnorfolk.com Company philosophy Don’t wait for someone else to provide for you; put in the effort and create your success.

Number of associates About 150 mentors, co-founders and investors Growth Cultivation of nine startup companies in past year

HARRY GERWIEN

velopment on the other. Imagining the synergy, he couldn’t refrain.

“I think I’ve pushed those who may have been on the fence to start a company, to see why it’s important to start something rather than wait for something to happen,” he said. “And I really pushed for them to have an opportunity to be seen and to be heard here.”

One Hatch-cultivated company, Virginia Beach-based GM Engineering Services LLC, is now worth millions, with revenues and sales from around the world.

Selected startups must show that an idea is viable and that if automated, will likely profit.

“Basically,” Miller said, “we’re looking for proof of concept.”

From one entrepreneur to a world of others, Miller advises this: People who put in the effort to make something happen are usually the ones who succeed. Don’t rely on government funding, don’t complain and be solution-oriented, he urged.

“If your solution is wrong, that’s IB OK,” he said, “but try it first.”

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 2013

MAY 13, 2013 » INSIDE BUSINESS » B11

Meet the judges

The Top 10 To Watch were selected by a panel of judges convened by the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and Small Business Developoment Center of Hampton Roads to recognize 10 companies that are some of the fastestgrowing in the area and for their service in supporting the local business community.

They will be honored at the chamber’s award luncheon.

Joseph Donnelly, CPA, President of Donnelly Real Properties LLC

Caron Crouse, Office Managing Partner, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP

Lamont Maddox, business lawyer, The Guidance Law Firm

Dorris Gomez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor & Program Director, M.A. Organizational Leadership, Regent University School of Business & Leadership

Susan Long-Molnar, President, Managing Communications Consulting

Stephen Lanivich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Management & Entrepreneurship, Old Dominion University College of Business & Public Administration

GM Engineering Services LLC Virginia Beach Hampton Roads Veterinary Hospice Virginia Beach Dancing Tomato Virginia Beach GreenLife Adventure Sports Norfolk Vinylmint Norfolk RoboCent Inc. Norfolk O’Connor Brewing Co. Norfolk ShepelleWatkinsWhite Consulting & Law PLLC Chesapeake Vox Optima Chesapeake Kelli’s Dance Explosion Portsmouth

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