6. Odesus Inc.

0



Information technology staffing and consulting firm. (Los Angeles)


Growth Rate 346%


Executive:

Robert P. Michaels, chief executive and founder


Early Days/Financing:

I’d been in the IT services for almost 20 years. Starting Odesus was a natural progression in my career. I’d been involved in companies I’d bought and sold before. This was in my bag of tricks. Prior to founding Odesus I was partner of a company that sold for $90 million. There’s always been a big demand for augmentation of large companies. We launched the company right before Sept. 11 so things were interesting those first years. Funds came from lines of credit and my own finances.


Big Break:

It was around mid-2002, about a year and a half after launching the company. Two of our accounts we’d dealt with brought us on board as a preferred member: one is a financial organization, the other a major movie studio.


Biggest Challenge:

Challenges are the same as any from growing organically, being efficient with operations and cost, and finding talented people to do what they do extremely well. There’s a tremendous amount of competition. Our specialization is IT so it helps a lot in understanding our clients. We don’t do a shotgun approach. We partner with our clients to understand the project and business, how to go about the timeline and reach goals, and formulate strategies and solutions to fit their needs.

Secret of Success: I’d have to say our secret has been the fact that we specialize in our area and do the best at the job. Persistence obviously factors in. It’s staying the course and keeping an even tempo toward the business environment; not getting too excited about good news or overreacting at bad.


What’s Next:

In the next three to five years, we can grow to a $30 million to $40 million company possible merger or acquisition, or an IPO possibility. Consulting is a bigger area to invest in next year. Expansion is always a possibility. We have offices in New York and Los Angeles and are looking at opening offices in San Francisco and another U.S. city.


Bright Outlook:

There are positive signs on where the IT spending market is going. There’s indication for a 7 percent increase for the next couple years. That’s good news for us.

No posts to display