After 25 years of working for other laboratories, Alan Kaye decided to strike out on his own. So he and his wife, Randi, opened a cancer-testing operation, Pathnet Laboratory, in Van Nuys in May 1996.
Kaye knew all along how he wanted to run the business: With a close-knit office staff and a dedication to community service.
Today, the company has grown to 38 full-time employees and about 10 part-timers. It handles women’s gynecological cancer lab tests for private physicians, managed care clinics, county health care agencies and Planned Parenthood centers nationwide.
The rapid growth has Kaye facing the challenge of shepherding along his company’s success while staying true to his corporate philosophy. He was interviewed by Joyzelle Davis.
We started this company because there was a need for it. We focus on two groups: underserved women who we serve by working for the not-for-profit clinics that reach out to the patients who fall between the cracks of Medicare and managed-care clients.
We’re in a very serious business. We’re diagnosing cancer, and you can’t miss those cases. One thing about pap smears is that there’s always the chance of getting a false positive which is an awful scare. So I treat every single pap smear as if I were diagnosing my mother, sister or wife.
Providing a quality work environment enhances the quality of service from your employees. To have a successful company, you’ve got to treat your customers right and you’ve got to treat your staff right. Your employees are your only asset that appreciates. All of your equipment and technology depreciates over time, but your staff grows as they acquire more knowledge and experience.
Some companies have suggestion boxes, but they never implement the suggestions. I’m big on a lot of meetings but very short ones. Within every employee’s line of sight, they might have 10 to 20 ideas on how to improve the company. But they may never speak up about them.
I use humor so that I’m non-threatening to approach, and just being there to listen keeps the lines of communication open. Management should not be dictatorial the flow chart should be flat so there’s no hierarchy.
I’ve always tried to teach my kids that they should put back into the community. Now that I have my own business, I have the ability to make a difference by working gratis for places like the Venice Family Clinic, hiring people off welfare for clerical work and just by fostering a sense of community at my office.
Now we’re in the position where we’ve got two or three candidates for acquisition and we might be able to add several state contracts which could potentially add a lot more employees. But first I want to make sure that we have our financial house in order; we’re looking at a capital infusion through a strong credit line. But we want to grow prudently, so we go from crawling to walking before we run.
Our goal is not to grow in order to go public and cash out. That’s not responsible. Our goal is to grow while we maintain our quality and service. And we want to stick to the simple things, like giving back to the community.
