9 VARs Reveal Their Secrets For Fast Growth

For Groupware Technology, an IT solution provider based in Campbell, Calif., it's all about the people. Company execs say that, hands down, the secret to navigating through their explosion of rapid growth is to hire experienced, dependable employees with a wide array of professional and personal backgrounds.



"The sooner you realize that your employees are your most valuable asset and that they are a differentiator in your business, the quicker you will achieve success. It is critically important to surround yourself with good people; people that are talented, capable and experienced. Embrace diversity and seek out people that have different professional and personal experiences. Often this diversity provides your business with a unique perspective and competitive advantage that you will be able to utilize repeatedly. Find people that you can trust and make sure that your people share in the success of the company."

-- Mike Thompson, CEO, Groupware Technology

Park Place International, a post warranty information service technology provider based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, says, 'It's the people.' But it's also about having qualified staffing to adequately meet customer's needs.

"We have been blessed with the success of very rapid growth within the past several years. But, with that growth, comes the commitment to continuously invest in new infrastructure, procedures, and most importantly, people. We have seen our employee numbers increase just as rapidly as our sales to ensure that we have the right number of sales people combined with the right number of engineers to service our customers. Because ultimately, at the end of the day, we are a service company. By bringing on additional engineers to service our customers effectively, we earn their trust and more easily earn repeat business. "

-- Ed Kenty, President and CEO, Park Place International

Execs at Sword and Shield Enterprise Security, an information security consulting company based in Knoxville, Tenn., say that some tried and true tips for successfully managing rapid growth include implementing comprehensive revenue and expenditure strategies and sustaining a healthy number of vendor relationships. And it seems to have worked. The company has experienced more than 600 percent growth in to-line revenues during the past five years.

"We implemented a risk management strategy of not relying on a single major revenue component. We maintain a healthy number of vendor relationships, a strong consulting services practice, and are active in multiple markets. This strategy helps us maintain steady growth even when there is softness in a revenue component. We used subcontractors and sales agents to minimize cash flow and risk in targeted areas.

"We sought out areas of growth that were not capital intensive. We didn't overextend ourselves in times of high growth and we remained focused on building a company for the long-term. "We engaged our associates by maintaining a culture of business education through the sharing of financials, participation in profit sharing at all levels, and openly communicating both the good and the challenging aspects of growth."

-- John McNeely, CEO and President, Sword and Shield Enterprise Security

Strong process and good practices. At least that is one of the tips that helped South Carolina-based CSI Technology Outfitters survive its rapid growth explosion.

"CSI Technology Outfitters has survived a period of rapid growth by putting stronger business practices and processes in place over the last few years. As additional opportunities arose, we were able to take advantage of them due to our improved organizational structure. We offer excellent solutions and cultivate key vendor relationships to help us deliver those solutions.



"The technology segment of CSI focuses heavily on the education market. As we've built our expertise in this area, we have been able to grow that portion of our business significantly. Our offerings to this market include the Connected Classroom (including interactive whiteboards and distance learning), VOIP, video surveillance, and identity life cycle management tools. In addition, the software segment of our business offers financial management solutions to the public sector. By having this array of solutions, we are able to sell to a variety of departments (IT, Instruction, Operations, and Finance)."

-- Nancy Hedrick, CEO, CSI Technology Outfitters

Execs at Perimeter eSecurity, a SaaS provider specializing in on demand security, say that the secret to managing rapid growth is due in large part to its strategic acquisitions, which has helped the company to retain a revenue growth rate of 331 percent over the last five years.

"To be successful in managing high growth, defined disciplines and processes must be put in place. We have found through experience that is best to plan out as many points of integration as possible through the evaluation process before the deal is finalized. Although the company to be acquired is usually anxious to get the deal done as the buyer, we take our time because we are buying valuable assets, which include the company's employees and its customer base. With acquisitions come anxiety, concerns and uncertainty for employees of both the acquiring and acquired companies as well as their customers. Clear communications to all employees is critical before the acquisition becoming publically known. This includes basic info about the two companies involved (how many employees, locations, revenue, etc.) and answering some basic questions such as 1) Why are we making the acquisition? 2) Strategically how does this impact the company direction? 3) How will the acquisition and other related events impact the employees? The same focus on the customers must occur and personal calls should be made to the largest practical portion of the customer base as possible.

"It is also important to show a low attrition rate for each acquisition and to retain industry brand names of important companies, as we have done with USA.NET, Perimeter's hosted e-messaging/hosted Exchange subsidiary. Perimeter eSecurity has acquired 14 companies in the last five years and averages one acquisition per quarter. In Q3 of 2007 Perimeter received two funding rounds totaling $104 million from Goldman Sachs, Bessemer Ventures and Stripes Group, which the company is using to continue to build growth through acquisition and enhanced brand awareness. The company has always relied heavily on sales to the channel to grow its business."

-- Brad Miller, CEO, Perimeter eSecurity

Surviving rapid growth for Presidio, an advanced technology infrastructure solution provider, means forward thinking and having a dedicated and entrepreneurial team.



"We are fortunate, in our opinion, to have the finest operating team in the industry. Our philosophy is to begin with operators that are entrepreneurial by nature, provide them with a strategic overlay and the capital and to run and expand their business and then stay out of the way."



-- Joel A. Schleicher, Chairman and CEO, Presidio

Execs at FusionStorm, a San Francisco-based IT enterprise solution provider, attribute their company's significant growth to numerous factors, which include beefing up authority and accountability, making sure objectives are on track, region by region, and hiring employees with both technical expertise and business acumen.

"We're pushing for more authority and accountability. We have to make sure all our goals are aligned and the metrics are solid that we're measuring by region. It's kind of a decentralization story. Inspection is a big deal. That's where the metrics are.

"We're making sure the management part has the authority and decision making power to raise customer satisfaction and apply a technical solutions-based approach.



"Plus, you always have to hire some of the best people out there. Not just those with technical expertise but very good business people.



"We're not curing cancer here, we're just trying to run a business, once you start think it's that difficult, you have to rethink things."



-- Tim Tonges, President and COO, FusionStorm

Axispoint, a solution provider specializing in consulting, application and Web development, networking and wireless, maintains that the secret to surviving explosive growth ultimately stems from hiring the right people, innovative policies and embracing inevitable changes to the company.



"When you experience rapid growth, a leadership team has to be diligent to avoid certain pitfalls that can derail the journey. Successful and sustainable growth starts with the right team. With the right team, you need the appropriate mindset and culture to grow. At Axispoint we have fostered the entrepreneurial spirit and we believe in being 'scrappy.' Our culture of best of breed customer care and complex problem solving has led to industry leading customer and employee retention. Axispoint also has a different sales model than many in our industry; so we didn't espouse the status quo. The combination of an innovative sales model with a culture of caring has created a self-fulfilling prophecy of continual growth.

"Another pitfall to rapid growth is fear. Some companies are afraid to change and upset the apple cart or are afraid to try something new and fail. At Axispoint, we know how to live in constant flux. We actually embrace change. We know that you have to stretch the rubber band as far it will go but not let it break. When companies grow rapidly, they experience organizational, process, systems and other issues every year. At Axispoint, we have become adept at addressing and improving our issues while the growth train keeps running down the track. This has been a secret to our success."



-- Daniel DiSano, President and CEO, Axispoint

Agilysys, an IT solution provider specializing in select markets such as retail and hospitality, says on its Website that several strong core values helped put them ahead of the pack by fostering critical professional relationships that ultimately strengthen the company's performance.



"At Agilysys, our people make the difference, through their experience, expertise and commitment to core values, which define the way we do business and add strength to both our performance and our relationships. We live these core values each and every day:

"Integrity " We will maintain the highest degree of integrity, fostering open and honest communication among our employees and everyone with whom we do business.

"Trust " We are a company committed to fulfilling our promises and continuing the company legacy of doing the right thing.



"Respect " Our employees respect one another, our customers and our suppliers, by consistently being thoughtful of others' needs and opinions.



"Agility " We will utilize all of our talents, skills and resources to seek unique business approaches and industry-leading solutions, striving to be the best we can be."

-- Arthur Rhein, CEO and Chairman, Agilysis