SPECIAL REPORT: Treeium Inc.

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Valley Village

BUSINESS: Eco-friendly residential remodeling

FOUNDED: 2010

TWO-YEAR REVENUE GROWTH: 1,418 percent

2014 REVENUE: $24.6 million

Responses from Chief Executive Moty Ginsburg

What did you do to achieve the company’s growth?

We built a strong customer base with referrals and online reviews. We get four stars and up on any platform because we’re all about listening to our customers and making them happy, versus coming to a job and telling them what they need to do. We’re also planting a tree for every project we do, in partnership with Tree People, a nonprofit environmental group.

How did you manage the growing workload? For example, did you have to add space, hire more employees or move into new facilities?

We have established satellite offices that are close to the jobs we do. Our corporate headquarters houses our sales team, call center, project management and marketing staff. We opened two satellite offices in Northern California and we plan to expand with offices in Riverside, Ventura and Sacramento. We’re also looking to open an office in Austin, Texas, next year.

What were the biggest obstacles holding you back from growing? How did you overcome them?

Finding the right employees to do the work out in the field. It’s all about personalities and people get very emotional. When we are in someone’s home, we have to be clean, not too noisy and there at the right time. Mastering that has been a big part of our success.

How do you manage expectations after such strong growth?

Eventually, we will need to hire more personnel. By having our satellite offices, it is easier for us to scale up. I used to manage a much larger company, so I know how to do this.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned over the last three years?

I learned I have to hire the best people so they can help me know what to do and how to run the company. Even a person in the smallest position can come up with a great idea. In fact, the idea to plant trees was an idea that came from a group of employees.

Is there anything you would have done differently?

I would have put the technology we have now into the company from the first day.

Does your location in the L.A. area help or hinder your growth?

I’ve been living in L.A. for 25 years, so it’s easy for me to have the headquarters here. California is very green – there are so many celebrities here promoting a green lifestyle and advocating for sustainability. But I think this awareness is part of the global environment now, too – everybody would prefer to leave a clean planet to our kids.

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