Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Madison and Hotch Van Blarcum.
Please kick things off for us – would love to learn more of your story.
We met in college, so we’ve known each other almost 20 years.
Splendid Technology Services (STS) started in 2004 with a focus on small and medium business. In 2007, we shifted that focus towards public sector – primarily schools and other government/education organizations.
We build ourselves out as a true turn key network partner – we provide that single source for all of our clients’ needs, and we do almost all of our work in our house (i.e. we do not subcontract).
Our close, consultative (and very open book) approach to our clients has led to our success over the last decade – growth averaging 35% year over, and clientele that stay with us indefinitely.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth! Ha!
STS has had to dial every number, knock on every door, and claw our way up in terms of growth. In an area where there are so many possible sources, and so many LARGE vendors to choose from, we have had to earn every dollar of business we have found. And we’re scrappy – we’re not afraid to take on the national chains that have “branches” in Dallas and thousands of staff across the country. We’ll routinely stand toe to toe with them.
In terms of managing a company – when there are two of you, it’s easy. At every level of growth, new challenges arise and have to be dealt with. We had new challenges at 8 employees, and we have new challenges now at 18. We’re looking forward to 28, 38… 108.
We also didn’t bring any formal training or industry knowledge with us. Both owners have engineering, not business, degrees. We also didn’t spend time in larger companies in the same industry and leave with that empirical knowledge – so many companies like ours are built by people who have spent time in the industry, learned by experience, and then left their employers to start a company doing it “their way”. We kinda started “our way.” We’ve both been employed by other companies, no doubt, but on day 1 we started with a blank slate and had to start writing our book from scratch.
Splendid Technology Services – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We’re most proud of the relationship we build with our clients.
Our engagement model is slightly bespoke – that is, we understand each of our clients have different needs based on their own business models and capabilities. Our goal is to “get in where we fit in” and engage with our clients in the way that makes the most sense to them. In many cases we integrate with an existing IT department, utilized for escalation on (i.e. “this is really hard, call Splendid”). In other cases, we ARE their IT department and we’ll report to a C-level executive and run the entire department for them. For us, enabling the client to achieve their business goals is as important as the tech we work with.
Partnership and tenacity are big deals to us – the first person to take a meeting with me in 2007 finally bought something from me in 2013… but since then, we’ve been their sole source. And clients that started with us in 2007 are still clients today. We don’t lose clients.
One of the biggest things we’re proud of is telling a client when NOT to buy something. I’ve had more than one client tell me that solidified our relationship with them, telling them they shouldn’t purchase something they had thought was a good idea. We guard our customers’ networks closely, because they are our networks as well.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I think we will always be proudest of building this place from the ground up. Every document, policy, and procedure was written by us. Every curve-ball we’ve had to swing at has helped us to adjust our stance. Realistically, there is nothing we’re reticent to tackle these days, no matter how large or complex. We’re proud of being fearless – we see so many weird scenarios and so many crazy budget swings among our clients, we get excited at the prospect of something crazy, rather than scared.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1100 Jupiter Rd.,
Suite 130, Plano, TX 75074 - Website: www.splendidtechnology.com
- Phone: 972-999-2135
- Email: marketing@splendidtechnology.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/splendidtechnologyservices/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/splendiddfw
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/splendid-technology-services
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