January 21, 2025 • 30 mins
Pallav Thakkar is the founder of iVision Consulting, a trustworthy, quality-driven IT consulting company that started in 2007. With over 25 years of experience, Pallav started the company with the idea of using technology to solve business challenges for our clients. He has assembled a team of like-minded, quality-focused professionals dedicated to delivering cutting-edge, agile, and outcome-driven technology solutions.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
M and T Bank resents iHeartRadio's CEOs you should know,
powered by the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. Let's meet
pulof Tucker.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
He is the president and CEO for I Vision.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
It's in It consulting services, based in Rockville, Maryland, since
two thousand and seven and delivering a broad spectrum of
digital business transformation, strategy and technology services across the federal
government and industry. Before we talk more about Pulov's company,
I first asked him to talk a little bit about himself,
where he's from and his origin story.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
I actually was born in India in a small village
in Kutch. Gujarat is the state, So if you actually
think of India, it's the part that sticks out that's
a little bit above Bombay's what people generally know. And
I grew up there. We moved here when I was
in third grade. I went to Mill Creek Elementary School
(00:57):
here in offa shady grove in montgomer County and did
my elementary school there. Then we moved to another part
of Gaithersburg and attended Fields Rout Elementary School again in
this area in Montgomery County. Attended Ridgeview High School or
Middle school for a year and then Dad decided to
(01:19):
move us back to India. This was in the late eighties,
So we moved back to Gujrat, did my ninth and
tenth there, and then we moved back to the States again.
Came back to Montgomery County, and I graduated from Gaithersburg
High Not class of ninety one. So I grew up
(01:40):
in this area, sort of grew up in India sort of,
but actually then finished off my high school and then
have been here ever since. I attended Montgomery County Germantown
Campus MC went there for two years after high school
and then transferred over to College Park. So we got
a terp pire right, Oh yes, so we got a
(02:02):
terp all right. There's a lot of them that are
on the series. By the way, that's not going to
surprise you.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
What also is not going to surprise you is on
this series, especially living in the DMV, we have such
a melting pot of people and people that have either
been born here and I go back to their original
country that their parents are from and come back. You've
had a lot of change over your life, and I
imagine running a company that we're going to talk about
just a second but I do want to talk about
your extensive resume too for context for our listeners before
(02:28):
we talk about your company that has done very well
for over fifteen years. About change, because you've had a
lot of change in your life, and I imagine if
you go through staff or if you move one office
to another or all those things, I imagine it's pretty
beneficial that you personally have been through change.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah, I mean it is. I think we were talking
about this earlier with others on our team. I think
change when you actually go through, especially the change that
I went through. If you look at education, right, I was,
I grew up here and terms of elementary school, middle school,
then I had high school in India, went to high
(03:04):
school here. So if you look at change in that respect,
just from that example, I've understood I can understand when
people talk about change and how they perceive education overseas.
I can appreciate in the discussions about how people perceive
education in the States.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Right.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
So it does.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
I think when you go through change, it helps you
see the viewpoint of the people that you're talking to,
and you know, you're talking about something that I think
we all like to do as human beings is relate
to each other, and as a leader, imagine that comes
in handy all.
Speaker 5 (03:38):
The time, all the time, all the time.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
I think it gives us empathy also to appreciate, you know,
in the end as leading a company. To me, it's
all about our team members. I think in the beginning
when we actually started, and we can get into this,
but in the beginning, when I set out, it was
to use to technology to solve a problem. I've seen
(04:03):
recently as we've grown, is about people management and the workforce.
So I think in that respect, I've sort of morphed
into becoming a different type of leader. Before it was
very much driven around technology and solutions. Now it's how
do I get a bunch of people to work together
in a way that they can deliver results and.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Also in a post pandemic world that I'll talk to
you about a little bit later on, and before we
talk about your company and mission and all the capabilities
and programs you do. As you were leaving College Park
and Maryland, and I know you have an engineering background, but.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
What did you want to do? What was kind of
the goal for you?
Speaker 4 (04:38):
It was simple, I wanted to start a business. Okay,
I didn't know what. I actually studied civil engineering in
the hopes of getting into real estate. Frankly, really yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
So.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
I used to spend my Saturdays and Sundays driving around
DC because I wanted to buy properties in DC. Sure,
when I came out, I realized that I didn't have
any resources. I had time, which was very important, but
I didn't have the other resources that you need to
invest in real estate at the time. So still today
(05:14):
that is one of the things that we do, but
it's obviously not the primary thing. Sure, but yeah, I
wanted to just start a business.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
I didn't know what.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
It took me some time to figure out really where
my direction was going to be and where I can
make the impact.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And also a common theme on the series too that
you know, you just try things and see if they
stick up against the wall. And that's a pretty regular
thing no matter what type of business that you get into.
So I do want to talk about the origin story
of the company before mission and what you do with
I Vision and you started in two thousand and seven,
and every time I talked to a leader CEO and
I know you were a lot of hats which I
also want to talk to you about, but usually not
(05:52):
necessarily being a disruptor, but you're noticing that there's a
hole in the industry. Yeah, and I can fill this
hole with my skills at this company.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Can you tell me about that origin story in coming.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Up with the company.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Yeah, So the company did start in two thousand and seven.
How it started is actually interesting. So I was working,
so I was a civil engineer. I graduated with the
civil engineering degree. I worked at Bechtel, who had an
office near the Rio. And at that time, it was
(06:28):
the late nineties, it was booming. Everybody was in it.
So I took a chance to get into the IT field,
hoping that, you know, I'll find more challenges there use
it to solve problems. I got into it, took again
a couple of classes in Montgomery College, and at that
time it was enough. I got my first foothold. The
(06:49):
first company I worked for in it was a Coil
Software in Columbia, Columbia, Maryland, and there once that company
got sold to Citrix, I transitioned into Citrix, and there
I noticed it was a much bigger company. So Coia
Software was a startup and the mindset was different. So
(07:10):
I left Citrix and a group of us started and
found a problem and we built a company called XTS
and it was a product company. So we found a need.
I was still doing forty hours of work somewhere working
for an IT contract or government contractor. We built a
product in two thousand and six. That product was doing well,
(07:34):
so we wanted to sell it or have it acquired
by a venture capital. So what happened was the venture
capital was looking at our business and we had a
product that they were interested in. But I was working
on the side and there were services involved, and they're like,
get the services out of this company so I can
buy the product.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Ah.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
That's where Ivision was born, right right, so I vision
that's kind of a happy accident. Yeah, it was a
happy accident, right. So we broke off the services, and
since I was the one doing the services primarily, we
started Ivision with the idea of providing services to the government.
So in two thousand and seven we gave the company
(08:18):
to a venture capital, the product company, and then I
concentrated fully on the government contracting. Very cool, and our
first project was HHS in two thousand and seven. About that, Yeah,
that's huge, it was. It was a good start.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Well, I also want to talk about some clients that
you can't talk about in just a moment in before
mission and what you do. Programs and capabilities always get
my attention drawn by names that are interesting in companies,
and I vision's interesting. It caught my attention when I
heard about you and your company. Why the name of
that company?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
We've had the idea.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
So I always had the idea, even when I was
growing up, that everybody comes across problems, right, And every
time I came across a problem, I think the way
I approached it was there are multiple solutions to that problem.
It's my responsibility or job to find the most effective
(09:15):
solution to any problem, whatever that problem is. And it
doesn't have to be it related, you know, personal challenges
with work, colleagues, other issues that anybody has. So I
always saw problems as a way to you know, how
am I going to come up with the most effective solution.
And so when we were coming up with the name Ivision,
(09:38):
our tagline was providing results you could see, Okay, so
very tangible at it, Results that don't have to be complicated,
don't have to be over engineered. Yeah, sometimes they're just simple, right,
you know, it's interesting and thanks to the explanation on that.
But I always find it fascinating because when you take
it to another level of naming your company and there
are very specific reasons that may be aligned with your
(10:01):
mission and what you do.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
I just think that's cool.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And there's extra TLC being put into a company when
you're naming something that you really are and it's not
just a name that people can say, well, just you know,
find it that way, and that's that there's something behind it,
which I think is cool. So thanks for explaining that.
All right, Well, let's do this. Let's talk about mission.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
What is it now?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
So I mean, if I had to say in the
in our mission statement, it's just that we want to
deliver innovative and impactful solutions that are transparent, efficient, and
tailored to the needs of our clients. Right, And I
can explain a few parts of that if you like.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah, and I'll let you expound on that. So let's
do this. Though there's going to be a lot of listeners, entrepreneurs,
future entrepreneurs that are hearing about the company for the
first time. In I vision, if you were to give
a thirty thousand foot view and tell everybody what you do.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
What would you.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
Say to them?
Speaker 4 (10:56):
We find issues and we try to have the best
team possible to solve those issues. I mean, in the end,
that's what it is. We use it in this case
to do it. But you know, working with our clients,
working with our partners, we're looking for opportunities, we're looking
for problems to solve, and we're using our skill sets
(11:19):
to solve those. Like I said, in this case, it
just happens to focus on it, but I think people
out there are doing it every day, whether it's in
construction and restaurants in retail. But you know, there's always
a better way to do things and concentrating on those
issues that people have. Amazon did it, they've done it. Well,
they didn't start it out that way, but again they
(11:41):
found problems over time. You know, they tried a few things,
and things just stick if it meets the needs of
the customers.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Well, let's have you expound on that with programs and capabilities.
Can you get into specifics a little bit in the
weeds about what you do provide some of your clients.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Yeah, So in it are basically concentrated on three things.
One is on the cybersecurity side, so our team is
focused on providing security solutions. There's a lot of systems
being built, a lot of new technologies coming out, so
we're helping our clients in one way to make sure
(12:18):
that those are secure. The other parts are there's actually threefolds,
so cybersecurity is one. The other one what we call
is digital services. It's basically using tools and technologies that
are out there to help the customers solve their problems.
(12:39):
Some IT type of things are like Service Now, Oracle, Apex, Salesforce.
Those are like big companies that have been able to
build products which we then implement on the customer's behalf
and the third is cloud migrations. So this is where
you have companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Google. They have
(13:03):
these infrastructures that they're building. We're helping customers sort of
transition from how they're doing things today to kind of
adopting those types of technologies and platforms.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
I don't want to make any assumptions about this, but
I imagine it's a competitive field. I'm not sure if
any company does exactly what you and your team do.
But with that, as you're selling yourself where people are
coming to talk to you and what do you got
for me? How do you differentiate yourself from the competition?
Speaker 5 (13:30):
Yeah, it's it's hard.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
It's it's one of the hardest things that I think
that we have to do because I think in this
day and age, and you know it's been true all
the time, it's how can you build that trust with
the people that you're going to end up building the
solutions for, so they not only understand that you have
(13:54):
the capability, but they can trust you to do the
job right. Again, whether it's somebody be helping me build
a deck, remodel my basement, we typically reach out to
people that can help us that have that trust relationship.
So we try to differentiate ourselves by working with our
customers today and making sure that we do whatever we
(14:17):
can to build that trust. I'll give you an example
if please do.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
So, we had a customer that we supported at Health
and Human Services. That customer we supported between two thousand
and fifteen to twenty seventeen. The first project that we
ever got was with Health and Human Services. We lost
that project last year in twenty twenty three. So we
(14:44):
had that customer over sixteen years and we saw multiple
clients as part of that engagement. In twenty fifteen to
twenty seventeen, we supported this one customer. That customer then
moved to a different agency. I got a call one
day in twenty two, twenty two, and the customer asked that,
you know, I don't trust my current contractor. Can you
(15:07):
help me do this work? And I asked him what
work was needed and he basically had said, there's this
project that I have, I don't trust the contractor. It's
thirty people. Can you just ensure that those thirty people
continue to stay on our project, but they work through
your company? And I said sure. So again in this case,
(15:31):
I think what we did our team was successful is
when we were supporting that customer in twenty fifteen to
twenty seventeen, we built a relationship of trust that carried
over two years later. When that customer actually needed something,
they came to us from a trust perspective, right. So
I think the way we try to differentiate ourselves to
(15:54):
answer your question is when our team goes to a
client to work on that project, we empower them to
do the best that they can, but we do it,
I hope, in a way very honest and trust. For
the way we try to build that relationship with the client,
(16:18):
we do the work and then if the client is
happy with it, you know, we continue to stay sixteen
years at HHS for a government contractor. I think that's
a pretty decent achievement.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Well, it says a lot about you and your company,
and I did want to talk to you about that
because what I'm getting from how you were explaining this
in your customer service and how you go pretty deep
in with your clients with the trust, it sounds like
culture but also integrity.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Is very important to you.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
And I imagine the client starts to notice that. It
gets word of mouth around the community too, that not
only are you a good businessman, but it's to a
higher level of customer service.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
It's pretty important to everybody.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
Now, yeah, I mean, I think, I mean, and look,
in the end, we do want to make a profit, right,
so that part of the business. We always want to
make sure that it's covered. But that's not the only goal, right.
If that was the only goal, you know, it would
be a different business model. We would just start, you know,
bidding on work in the government space. But you know,
(17:20):
there there has to be to me, there has to
be when we are putting a team together and we're
bidding on work or we're getting an opportunity to help somebody.
We want there to be pride in that. And again
that's what we're trying to establish with our workforce, with
our team members. It's not easy, right the workforce that
(17:40):
we have, technology, especially in the IT field, is changing rapidly.
So how do we empower our workforce to do the
best that they can for what the customer needs. It's
very important you don't have.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
To go in any specifics because every time I bring
up AI, everybody's going to different opinion. And of course
we could talk forever about that. But I've noticed, just
as a layman now as AI has come into our world,
and specifically with your business, and technology as you mentioned,
is moving so quickly, I imagine that the educational learning crew
must be incredible and you're obviously a very bright man.
(18:19):
I'm sure of a very bright staff, but it must
be overwhelming at times because things are moving so quickly,
and now that AI is a part of this that
I'm sure you're going to be integrating or are right
now with your clients. They're getting educated too, it must
be a little bit overwhelming.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
At times.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
At least that's what I would see outside of the bubble,
just kind of looking at a business like yours.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it is. And you know, I
think AI is here to stay. I think everybody can
see some of the value add there. But again, if
we step back right when kind of going back to
the earlier point, they're always going to be issues. Everybody's
going to have problems that they need solve. AI is
(18:58):
one piece of that problem, right. I think we're we're
hearing customers right now. You know, there's this AI thing.
How am I going to use it?
Speaker 5 (19:06):
So?
Speaker 4 (19:06):
To me, AI is a mechanism to help us be
more effective in solving problems for the customer. Does that
take away from the need to at least, you know,
still understand what the problems are for the customer?
Speaker 5 (19:22):
No?
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Do we still need to have those conversations about how
AI is going to fit into the organizations.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
Of course.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
So I think there's a lot of things around the
actual technology per se that still needs to be considered
for customers to actually benefit from that. Technologies change every
three to five years, they recycle. We had blockchain come around, right,
we had you know, you kind of go back in
time and you kind of see this again. AI I
think has a lot of value. It can make big
(19:51):
impacts to an organization, but those also provide opportunities for
companies like us to help our customers make that adopt option.
So I think that's where we're seeing the value of
AI is how are we going to use this now
to help the customer make that adoption incorporating that business,
(20:12):
how is the workforce going to get their workforce going
to get trained on using these tools and technologies?
Speaker 3 (20:17):
And I'm glad we talked about that. I think it's
just very curious topic. I did want to kind of
put a pin in the business. Even though there might
be some affiliations with with what you do with the company,
your team, but what you're also into when it comes
to philanthropic and charity work, what.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Do you like to be a part of.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Yeah, I mean I think.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
I'm looking at philanthropy and you know, one of the
things that I never had and when we were starting
the company was a mentor, right, So to me, when
I'm looking at how I can give back, I'm actually
looking at other companies that are much smaller than I am.
(20:58):
I'm still you know, a small fish in a huge pond.
Speaker 5 (21:02):
Right or ocean.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
I guess you could even say so I also still
need that mentorship, but I actually feel there are a
lot of good ideas, a lot of people are out
there that want to make a difference. So I actually
try to focus my time on how I can help,
you know, those that are getting started. There are things
that I've learned over time, mistakes I've made that, you know,
(21:26):
if I can find other companies that are maybe one
or two people, three to five people that are just
starting out, helping them maybe in the government side with
procurements and things like that, or just how to go
from two people to ten people, those are the types
of places where I like to kind of help out
in the community.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
I think it's great.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
I'm glad you do that, and not every CEO that
I talk to does that then or has the time
to do it. You know, in my industry and radio,
I've seen it on the sales, on the programming side
where there's been mentorship, and I can't begin to tell
you well, over the long time I've been in the business,
the beneficial things that come out of it are incredible.
That you get to shadow somebody that has that experience,
(22:08):
but let you do how you're going to do it,
but somebody's there to guide you. I think it's extraordinary
that you do that. I think it's really cool that
you didn't have it, but now you're paying it back forward.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Yeah, I mean, it's it's something that you know, we
all miss and you know, it's a journey, right, and
there's there's people at various points of that journey that
have various experiences and I think being able to rely
on one another, being able to listen and benefit from
each other having the conversations and as part of me
(22:38):
helping somebody in sort of a mentorship, I'm learning things
at the same time. Sure, right, So it's it's going
both ways. So that's you know, from that perspective, I
do see a lot of value in working with, you know,
companies that are starting out. Like I said, the ideas
are there, you know, people have them all the time. Yeah,
so how do you take that and you're going to
(22:59):
help them and vice versa in the future, you know,
I'll learn something as well.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
All right, it's advice time. Are you ready?
Speaker 3 (23:06):
I guess listen, you've been doing this for a long
time and you started your own business, You've moved around
a lot, well documented about where you've been, a lot
of change in your life. You've had a lot of success.
There are a lot of future entrepreneurs that are listening
to this series.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
I realize that your journey is very.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Specific to you, and I get that and people will
understand that. But what that said, maybe some advice about
starting a business, why you have success, the pitfalls of
it hanging in there. I know there's a lot of
different buckets that happened when you own your own business,
But can you impart a little advice to some of
our future entrepreneurs.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Yeah, I mean, I'll give it a go. Yeah, so
I think, you know, I think starts somewhere, right. It's
when you see issues. When you see problems, everybody has
a a solution. If they have that, go for it right.
(24:04):
You never know how it's going to work out. Right,
And today you start with one type of problem, one
type of solution, and tomorrow you adapt. Right as things change,
environments change, problems change. You're successful in solving something, you'll
see something else that needs to be resolved. So to me,
(24:26):
just start right, don't procrastinate.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Right.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
Advice is just.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Keep going and listen to what's happening and how your
solutions are being adapted, and then adapt to adapt to those.
But I would just say go ahead and start, you.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Know, if I could also dovetail on what you're saying.
I talked to my daughter, who is an aspiring filmmaker
in New York now, and we've talked for many years,
even when she was in high school about listen the
film said, has a lot of people on it, do
everything on it.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Learn what everybody does. So whatever you want to do,
whether you want to be.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
A DP or a director, you'll know what everybody else
is doing on the set. Well make you a better DP,
better director, better leader. But when you have that knowledge
and knowledge is power. And to my point, you know
your president, your CEO, your CTO, your engineering background. I
imagine you could dig in there too if you needed
to do, with all the wires, all the cool things
that you do with your company and your team. But
(25:22):
I think there's something to be said for wearing a
lot of hats in a company, but also having the
experience of what everybody's doing.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Would I be correct, Yeah, it is. I mean I
wear a lot of hats. We make various decisions, but
to me, it's the team that we have that's supporting
me and helping me get the information I need to
be able to make those decisions right. I am again
outwardly facing ceo CTO, but I rely on my team heavily.
(25:50):
If they're If I'm able to hire the people that
are driven and we're all working together and they're giving
me you know, what's been working, what's not working, then
I'm able to kind of use that to make the
right decision. So I would say, yeah, I wear many hats,
I make many decisions, but it's all predicated on my team,
(26:12):
you know, being an excellent team supporting me.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Well, I know this is not going to surprise you
without embarrassing you.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
I've talked to a lot of smart entrepreneurs and people
that run businesses, and the same theme comes up. I
have a team. Some of them are smarter than me,
and thank God that I have them because I've hired
them for a reason. I just let them go and
here we go. Team is very important. So I'm glad
you talked about that. I do want to get some
final thoughts before we get the website, and we can
(26:37):
talk about if you're hiring the best of the best
or looking for any positions. We can chat about that
at the end, but just maybe final recap of what
we talked about the floor is here, sir.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
Yeah, I mean again, from an overall perspective, you know,
if I were to kind of sum it all up,
you know, whether it's today in it or for your
customers is some other field to me. Having having a
vision and an idea and finding the right teaming partners
(27:06):
to work with you in that journey, that's what I
would concentrate on.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
All right, That's that's good advice. Let's give the website.
And I've been on it. It's easy to navigate. There's
a lot of information on there. But let's give people
the website and talk about it. If you are hiring
any certain positions. I know people are always keeping the
ears open about that.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
So it's Ivisionconsulting dot com, the letter I like iPad
iPhone Ivisionconsulting dot com. It's interesting actually, when in two
thousand and seven we came up with the name, there
was a lot of e commerce stuff going on. The
letter I was not being used as much, so it
was at the same time the iPhone came around, so
(27:49):
I think the letter I was being put in front
of just about everything, just about everything at the time.
So it's Ivision Consulting dot Com and yeah, we are hiring,
we are getting opportunity is in the cybersecurity arena, in
the cloud sort of adoption of Amazon and Oracle is
sort of where we're focused. We are getting a lot
of opportunities there. And we're always looking for driven people.
(28:14):
We've we've found that, you know, those that may not
have years and years of experience, they can make up
for it by having the drive in the motivation. And
I think those are the type of people that we're
looking for with some you know, basic level of understanding
about cybersecurity, about the cloud environments, but then very driven
(28:40):
and if we're able to sort of find those people,
those are the ones that we gravitate.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Towards out saying one last thing before I let you go,
I know you move back to the Rockville, Maryland area.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
You were in d C.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
And as I noticed, because I've talked to economic development
people on this series and also our public affairs show
with all the nonprofits, but also the biotech industry, your industry.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Three restaurants. Heck, we've got at Wegmans on Rockville Pike.
Speaker 5 (29:02):
That it's turning up.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Everybody's excited about the Pike and rose this place Montgomery County,
but Rockville is really growing tremendously.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I know there's a reason that you move back. There
could be many.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Reasons, but just talk about this area and what it
means to you and your team.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Yeah, thanks Dennis. This area, as you noted, is growing
and is vibrant. The investments that Montgomery County and the
state of Maryland are making in Rockville to make it
the Silicon Valley of biotech is starting to become evident.
We actually noticed this a few years back, and having
our customers like HHS NIH located here along with the
other HSS operating divisions like FDA, HEARSA, SAMSU, presented a
(29:41):
great opportunity for us to take our strengths and experience
that we've gained in the public sector and have it
applied to the biotech industry. This was the deciding factor
for us to come back and relocate here where we
started in Montgomery County, specifically in this area. And then
added to that is the benefit of the location actually
able to attract talent from Baltimore, Frederick, DC, and Virginia
(30:04):
just given the traffic patterns in this area. So we're
just glad to be back in this biotech hub.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Well, listen, I know you're a hop, skip and jump
from where we're doing our interview right now at I heart,
but I can't tell you how much I appreciate your time,
continued success, and thank you so much for joining us
on CEOs.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
You should know, all right, thanks Dennis.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Montgomery County, Maryland, is built for business success. With the
Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, CEOs find the support and
resources they need to help them grow and expand their businesses,
from site selection to county provided incentives.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
Together, they drive growth in key industries and foster economic
prosperity
M and T Bank resents iHeartRadio's CEOs you should know,
powered by the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. Let's meet
pulof Tucker.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
He is the president and CEO for I Vision.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
It's in It consulting services, based in Rockville, Maryland, since
two thousand and seven and delivering a broad spectrum of
digital business transformation, strategy and technology services across the federal
government and industry. Before we talk more about Pulov's company,
I first asked him to talk a little bit about himself,
where he's from and his origin story.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
I actually was born in India in a small village
in Kutch. Gujarat is the state, So if you actually
think of India, it's the part that sticks out that's
a little bit above Bombay's what people generally know. And
I grew up there. We moved here when I was
in third grade. I went to Mill Creek Elementary School
(00:57):
here in offa shady grove in montgomer County and did
my elementary school there. Then we moved to another part
of Gaithersburg and attended Fields Rout Elementary School again in
this area in Montgomery County. Attended Ridgeview High School or
Middle school for a year and then Dad decided to
(01:19):
move us back to India. This was in the late eighties,
So we moved back to Gujrat, did my ninth and
tenth there, and then we moved back to the States again.
Came back to Montgomery County, and I graduated from Gaithersburg
High Not class of ninety one. So I grew up
(01:40):
in this area, sort of grew up in India sort of,
but actually then finished off my high school and then
have been here ever since. I attended Montgomery County Germantown
Campus MC went there for two years after high school
and then transferred over to College Park. So we got
a terp pire right, Oh yes, so we got a
(02:02):
terp all right. There's a lot of them that are
on the series. By the way, that's not going to
surprise you.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
What also is not going to surprise you is on
this series, especially living in the DMV, we have such
a melting pot of people and people that have either
been born here and I go back to their original
country that their parents are from and come back. You've
had a lot of change over your life, and I
imagine running a company that we're going to talk about
just a second but I do want to talk about
your extensive resume too for context for our listeners before
(02:28):
we talk about your company that has done very well
for over fifteen years. About change, because you've had a
lot of change in your life, and I imagine if
you go through staff or if you move one office
to another or all those things, I imagine it's pretty
beneficial that you personally have been through change.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah, I mean it is. I think we were talking
about this earlier with others on our team. I think
change when you actually go through, especially the change that
I went through. If you look at education, right, I was,
I grew up here and terms of elementary school, middle school,
then I had high school in India, went to high
(03:04):
school here. So if you look at change in that respect,
just from that example, I've understood I can understand when
people talk about change and how they perceive education overseas.
I can appreciate in the discussions about how people perceive
education in the States.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Right.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
So it does.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
I think when you go through change, it helps you
see the viewpoint of the people that you're talking to,
and you know, you're talking about something that I think
we all like to do as human beings is relate
to each other, and as a leader, imagine that comes
in handy all.
Speaker 5 (03:38):
The time, all the time, all the time.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
I think it gives us empathy also to appreciate, you know,
in the end as leading a company. To me, it's
all about our team members. I think in the beginning
when we actually started, and we can get into this,
but in the beginning, when I set out, it was
to use to technology to solve a problem. I've seen
(04:03):
recently as we've grown, is about people management and the workforce.
So I think in that respect, I've sort of morphed
into becoming a different type of leader. Before it was
very much driven around technology and solutions. Now it's how
do I get a bunch of people to work together
in a way that they can deliver results and.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Also in a post pandemic world that I'll talk to
you about a little bit later on, and before we
talk about your company and mission and all the capabilities
and programs you do. As you were leaving College Park
and Maryland, and I know you have an engineering background, but.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
What did you want to do? What was kind of
the goal for you?
Speaker 4 (04:38):
It was simple, I wanted to start a business. Okay,
I didn't know what. I actually studied civil engineering in
the hopes of getting into real estate. Frankly, really yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
So.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
I used to spend my Saturdays and Sundays driving around
DC because I wanted to buy properties in DC. Sure,
when I came out, I realized that I didn't have
any resources. I had time, which was very important, but
I didn't have the other resources that you need to
invest in real estate at the time. So still today
(05:14):
that is one of the things that we do, but
it's obviously not the primary thing. Sure, but yeah, I
wanted to just start a business.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
I didn't know what.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
It took me some time to figure out really where
my direction was going to be and where I can
make the impact.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And also a common theme on the series too that
you know, you just try things and see if they
stick up against the wall. And that's a pretty regular
thing no matter what type of business that you get into.
So I do want to talk about the origin story
of the company before mission and what you do with
I Vision and you started in two thousand and seven,
and every time I talked to a leader CEO and
I know you were a lot of hats which I
also want to talk to you about, but usually not
(05:52):
necessarily being a disruptor, but you're noticing that there's a
hole in the industry. Yeah, and I can fill this
hole with my skills at this company.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Can you tell me about that origin story in coming.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Up with the company.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Yeah, So the company did start in two thousand and seven.
How it started is actually interesting. So I was working,
so I was a civil engineer. I graduated with the
civil engineering degree. I worked at Bechtel, who had an
office near the Rio. And at that time, it was
(06:28):
the late nineties, it was booming. Everybody was in it.
So I took a chance to get into the IT field,
hoping that, you know, I'll find more challenges there use
it to solve problems. I got into it, took again
a couple of classes in Montgomery College, and at that
time it was enough. I got my first foothold. The
(06:49):
first company I worked for in it was a Coil
Software in Columbia, Columbia, Maryland, and there once that company
got sold to Citrix, I transitioned into Citrix, and there
I noticed it was a much bigger company. So Coia
Software was a startup and the mindset was different. So
(07:10):
I left Citrix and a group of us started and
found a problem and we built a company called XTS
and it was a product company. So we found a need.
I was still doing forty hours of work somewhere working
for an IT contract or government contractor. We built a
product in two thousand and six. That product was doing well,
(07:34):
so we wanted to sell it or have it acquired
by a venture capital. So what happened was the venture
capital was looking at our business and we had a
product that they were interested in. But I was working
on the side and there were services involved, and they're like,
get the services out of this company so I can
buy the product.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Ah.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
That's where Ivision was born, right right, so I vision
that's kind of a happy accident. Yeah, it was a
happy accident, right. So we broke off the services, and
since I was the one doing the services primarily, we
started Ivision with the idea of providing services to the government.
So in two thousand and seven we gave the company
(08:18):
to a venture capital, the product company, and then I
concentrated fully on the government contracting. Very cool, and our
first project was HHS in two thousand and seven. About that, Yeah,
that's huge, it was. It was a good start.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Well, I also want to talk about some clients that
you can't talk about in just a moment in before
mission and what you do. Programs and capabilities always get
my attention drawn by names that are interesting in companies,
and I vision's interesting. It caught my attention when I
heard about you and your company. Why the name of
that company?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
We've had the idea.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
So I always had the idea, even when I was
growing up, that everybody comes across problems, right, And every
time I came across a problem, I think the way
I approached it was there are multiple solutions to that problem.
It's my responsibility or job to find the most effective
(09:15):
solution to any problem, whatever that problem is. And it
doesn't have to be it related, you know, personal challenges
with work, colleagues, other issues that anybody has. So I
always saw problems as a way to you know, how
am I going to come up with the most effective solution.
And so when we were coming up with the name Ivision,
(09:38):
our tagline was providing results you could see, Okay, so
very tangible at it, Results that don't have to be complicated,
don't have to be over engineered. Yeah, sometimes they're just simple, right,
you know, it's interesting and thanks to the explanation on that.
But I always find it fascinating because when you take
it to another level of naming your company and there
are very specific reasons that may be aligned with your
(10:01):
mission and what you do.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
I just think that's cool.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And there's extra TLC being put into a company when
you're naming something that you really are and it's not
just a name that people can say, well, just you know,
find it that way, and that's that there's something behind it,
which I think is cool. So thanks for explaining that.
All right, Well, let's do this. Let's talk about mission.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
What is it now?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
So I mean, if I had to say in the
in our mission statement, it's just that we want to
deliver innovative and impactful solutions that are transparent, efficient, and
tailored to the needs of our clients. Right, And I
can explain a few parts of that if you like.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah, and I'll let you expound on that. So let's
do this. Though there's going to be a lot of listeners, entrepreneurs,
future entrepreneurs that are hearing about the company for the
first time. In I vision, if you were to give
a thirty thousand foot view and tell everybody what you do.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
What would you.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
Say to them?
Speaker 4 (10:56):
We find issues and we try to have the best
team possible to solve those issues. I mean, in the end,
that's what it is. We use it in this case
to do it. But you know, working with our clients,
working with our partners, we're looking for opportunities, we're looking
for problems to solve, and we're using our skill sets
(11:19):
to solve those. Like I said, in this case, it
just happens to focus on it, but I think people
out there are doing it every day, whether it's in
construction and restaurants in retail. But you know, there's always
a better way to do things and concentrating on those
issues that people have. Amazon did it, they've done it. Well,
they didn't start it out that way, but again they
(11:41):
found problems over time. You know, they tried a few things,
and things just stick if it meets the needs of
the customers.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Well, let's have you expound on that with programs and capabilities.
Can you get into specifics a little bit in the
weeds about what you do provide some of your clients.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Yeah, So in it are basically concentrated on three things.
One is on the cybersecurity side, so our team is
focused on providing security solutions. There's a lot of systems
being built, a lot of new technologies coming out, so
we're helping our clients in one way to make sure
(12:18):
that those are secure. The other parts are there's actually threefolds,
so cybersecurity is one. The other one what we call
is digital services. It's basically using tools and technologies that
are out there to help the customers solve their problems.
(12:39):
Some IT type of things are like Service Now, Oracle, Apex, Salesforce.
Those are like big companies that have been able to
build products which we then implement on the customer's behalf
and the third is cloud migrations. So this is where
you have companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Google. They have
(13:03):
these infrastructures that they're building. We're helping customers sort of
transition from how they're doing things today to kind of
adopting those types of technologies and platforms.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
I don't want to make any assumptions about this, but
I imagine it's a competitive field. I'm not sure if
any company does exactly what you and your team do.
But with that, as you're selling yourself where people are
coming to talk to you and what do you got
for me? How do you differentiate yourself from the competition?
Speaker 5 (13:30):
Yeah, it's it's hard.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
It's it's one of the hardest things that I think
that we have to do because I think in this
day and age, and you know it's been true all
the time, it's how can you build that trust with
the people that you're going to end up building the
solutions for, so they not only understand that you have
(13:54):
the capability, but they can trust you to do the
job right. Again, whether it's somebody be helping me build
a deck, remodel my basement, we typically reach out to
people that can help us that have that trust relationship.
So we try to differentiate ourselves by working with our
customers today and making sure that we do whatever we
(14:17):
can to build that trust. I'll give you an example
if please do.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
So, we had a customer that we supported at Health
and Human Services. That customer we supported between two thousand
and fifteen to twenty seventeen. The first project that we
ever got was with Health and Human Services. We lost
that project last year in twenty twenty three. So we
(14:44):
had that customer over sixteen years and we saw multiple
clients as part of that engagement. In twenty fifteen to
twenty seventeen, we supported this one customer. That customer then
moved to a different agency. I got a call one
day in twenty two, twenty two, and the customer asked that,
you know, I don't trust my current contractor. Can you
(15:07):
help me do this work? And I asked him what
work was needed and he basically had said, there's this
project that I have, I don't trust the contractor. It's
thirty people. Can you just ensure that those thirty people
continue to stay on our project, but they work through
your company? And I said sure. So again in this case,
(15:31):
I think what we did our team was successful is
when we were supporting that customer in twenty fifteen to
twenty seventeen, we built a relationship of trust that carried
over two years later. When that customer actually needed something,
they came to us from a trust perspective, right. So
I think the way we try to differentiate ourselves to
(15:54):
answer your question is when our team goes to a
client to work on that project, we empower them to
do the best that they can, but we do it,
I hope, in a way very honest and trust. For
the way we try to build that relationship with the client,
(16:18):
we do the work and then if the client is
happy with it, you know, we continue to stay sixteen
years at HHS for a government contractor. I think that's
a pretty decent achievement.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Well, it says a lot about you and your company,
and I did want to talk to you about that
because what I'm getting from how you were explaining this
in your customer service and how you go pretty deep
in with your clients with the trust, it sounds like
culture but also integrity.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Is very important to you.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
And I imagine the client starts to notice that. It
gets word of mouth around the community too, that not
only are you a good businessman, but it's to a
higher level of customer service.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
It's pretty important to everybody.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
Now, yeah, I mean, I think, I mean, and look,
in the end, we do want to make a profit, right,
so that part of the business. We always want to
make sure that it's covered. But that's not the only goal, right.
If that was the only goal, you know, it would
be a different business model. We would just start, you know,
bidding on work in the government space. But you know,
(17:20):
there there has to be to me, there has to
be when we are putting a team together and we're
bidding on work or we're getting an opportunity to help somebody.
We want there to be pride in that. And again
that's what we're trying to establish with our workforce, with
our team members. It's not easy, right the workforce that
(17:40):
we have, technology, especially in the IT field, is changing rapidly.
So how do we empower our workforce to do the
best that they can for what the customer needs. It's
very important you don't have.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
To go in any specifics because every time I bring
up AI, everybody's going to different opinion. And of course
we could talk forever about that. But I've noticed, just
as a layman now as AI has come into our world,
and specifically with your business, and technology as you mentioned,
is moving so quickly, I imagine that the educational learning crew
must be incredible and you're obviously a very bright man.
(18:19):
I'm sure of a very bright staff, but it must
be overwhelming at times because things are moving so quickly,
and now that AI is a part of this that
I'm sure you're going to be integrating or are right
now with your clients. They're getting educated too, it must
be a little bit overwhelming.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
At times.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
At least that's what I would see outside of the bubble,
just kind of looking at a business like yours.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it is. And you know, I
think AI is here to stay. I think everybody can
see some of the value add there. But again, if
we step back right when kind of going back to
the earlier point, they're always going to be issues. Everybody's
going to have problems that they need solve. AI is
(18:58):
one piece of that problem, right. I think we're we're
hearing customers right now. You know, there's this AI thing.
How am I going to use it?
Speaker 5 (19:06):
So?
Speaker 4 (19:06):
To me, AI is a mechanism to help us be
more effective in solving problems for the customer. Does that
take away from the need to at least, you know,
still understand what the problems are for the customer?
Speaker 5 (19:22):
No?
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Do we still need to have those conversations about how
AI is going to fit into the organizations.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
Of course.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
So I think there's a lot of things around the
actual technology per se that still needs to be considered
for customers to actually benefit from that. Technologies change every
three to five years, they recycle. We had blockchain come around, right,
we had you know, you kind of go back in
time and you kind of see this again. AI I
think has a lot of value. It can make big
(19:51):
impacts to an organization, but those also provide opportunities for
companies like us to help our customers make that adopt option.
So I think that's where we're seeing the value of
AI is how are we going to use this now
to help the customer make that adoption incorporating that business,
(20:12):
how is the workforce going to get their workforce going
to get trained on using these tools and technologies?
Speaker 3 (20:17):
And I'm glad we talked about that. I think it's
just very curious topic. I did want to kind of
put a pin in the business. Even though there might
be some affiliations with with what you do with the company,
your team, but what you're also into when it comes
to philanthropic and charity work, what.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Do you like to be a part of.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Yeah, I mean I think.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
I'm looking at philanthropy and you know, one of the
things that I never had and when we were starting
the company was a mentor, right, So to me, when
I'm looking at how I can give back, I'm actually
looking at other companies that are much smaller than I am.
(20:58):
I'm still you know, a small fish in a huge pond.
Speaker 5 (21:02):
Right or ocean.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
I guess you could even say so I also still
need that mentorship, but I actually feel there are a
lot of good ideas, a lot of people are out
there that want to make a difference. So I actually
try to focus my time on how I can help,
you know, those that are getting started. There are things
that I've learned over time, mistakes I've made that, you know,
(21:26):
if I can find other companies that are maybe one
or two people, three to five people that are just
starting out, helping them maybe in the government side with
procurements and things like that, or just how to go
from two people to ten people, those are the types
of places where I like to kind of help out
in the community.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
I think it's great.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
I'm glad you do that, and not every CEO that
I talk to does that then or has the time
to do it. You know, in my industry and radio,
I've seen it on the sales, on the programming side
where there's been mentorship, and I can't begin to tell
you well, over the long time I've been in the business,
the beneficial things that come out of it are incredible.
That you get to shadow somebody that has that experience,
(22:08):
but let you do how you're going to do it,
but somebody's there to guide you. I think it's extraordinary
that you do that. I think it's really cool that
you didn't have it, but now you're paying it back forward.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Yeah, I mean, it's it's something that you know, we
all miss and you know, it's a journey, right, and
there's there's people at various points of that journey that
have various experiences and I think being able to rely
on one another, being able to listen and benefit from
each other having the conversations and as part of me
(22:38):
helping somebody in sort of a mentorship, I'm learning things
at the same time. Sure, right, So it's it's going
both ways. So that's you know, from that perspective, I
do see a lot of value in working with, you know,
companies that are starting out. Like I said, the ideas
are there, you know, people have them all the time. Yeah,
so how do you take that and you're going to
(22:59):
help them and vice versa in the future, you know,
I'll learn something as well.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
All right, it's advice time. Are you ready?
Speaker 3 (23:06):
I guess listen, you've been doing this for a long
time and you started your own business, You've moved around
a lot, well documented about where you've been, a lot
of change in your life. You've had a lot of success.
There are a lot of future entrepreneurs that are listening
to this series.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
I realize that your journey is very.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Specific to you, and I get that and people will
understand that. But what that said, maybe some advice about
starting a business, why you have success, the pitfalls of
it hanging in there. I know there's a lot of
different buckets that happened when you own your own business,
But can you impart a little advice to some of
our future entrepreneurs.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Yeah, I mean, I'll give it a go. Yeah, so
I think, you know, I think starts somewhere, right. It's
when you see issues. When you see problems, everybody has
a a solution. If they have that, go for it right.
(24:04):
You never know how it's going to work out. Right,
And today you start with one type of problem, one
type of solution, and tomorrow you adapt. Right as things change,
environments change, problems change. You're successful in solving something, you'll
see something else that needs to be resolved. So to me,
(24:26):
just start right, don't procrastinate.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Right.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
Advice is just.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Keep going and listen to what's happening and how your
solutions are being adapted, and then adapt to adapt to those.
But I would just say go ahead and start, you.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Know, if I could also dovetail on what you're saying.
I talked to my daughter, who is an aspiring filmmaker
in New York now, and we've talked for many years,
even when she was in high school about listen the
film said, has a lot of people on it, do
everything on it.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Learn what everybody does. So whatever you want to do,
whether you want to be.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
A DP or a director, you'll know what everybody else
is doing on the set. Well make you a better DP,
better director, better leader. But when you have that knowledge
and knowledge is power. And to my point, you know
your president, your CEO, your CTO, your engineering background. I
imagine you could dig in there too if you needed
to do, with all the wires, all the cool things
that you do with your company and your team. But
(25:22):
I think there's something to be said for wearing a
lot of hats in a company, but also having the
experience of what everybody's doing.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Would I be correct, Yeah, it is. I mean I
wear a lot of hats. We make various decisions, but
to me, it's the team that we have that's supporting
me and helping me get the information I need to
be able to make those decisions right. I am again
outwardly facing ceo CTO, but I rely on my team heavily.
(25:50):
If they're If I'm able to hire the people that
are driven and we're all working together and they're giving
me you know, what's been working, what's not working, then
I'm able to kind of use that to make the
right decision. So I would say, yeah, I wear many hats,
I make many decisions, but it's all predicated on my team,
(26:12):
you know, being an excellent team supporting me.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Well, I know this is not going to surprise you
without embarrassing you.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
I've talked to a lot of smart entrepreneurs and people
that run businesses, and the same theme comes up. I
have a team. Some of them are smarter than me,
and thank God that I have them because I've hired
them for a reason. I just let them go and
here we go. Team is very important. So I'm glad
you talked about that. I do want to get some
final thoughts before we get the website, and we can
(26:37):
talk about if you're hiring the best of the best
or looking for any positions. We can chat about that
at the end, but just maybe final recap of what
we talked about the floor is here, sir.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
Yeah, I mean again, from an overall perspective, you know,
if I were to kind of sum it all up,
you know, whether it's today in it or for your
customers is some other field to me. Having having a
vision and an idea and finding the right teaming partners
(27:06):
to work with you in that journey, that's what I
would concentrate on.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
All right, That's that's good advice. Let's give the website.
And I've been on it. It's easy to navigate. There's
a lot of information on there. But let's give people
the website and talk about it. If you are hiring
any certain positions. I know people are always keeping the
ears open about that.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
So it's Ivisionconsulting dot com, the letter I like iPad
iPhone Ivisionconsulting dot com. It's interesting actually, when in two
thousand and seven we came up with the name, there
was a lot of e commerce stuff going on. The
letter I was not being used as much, so it
was at the same time the iPhone came around, so
(27:49):
I think the letter I was being put in front
of just about everything, just about everything at the time.
So it's Ivision Consulting dot Com and yeah, we are hiring,
we are getting opportunity is in the cybersecurity arena, in
the cloud sort of adoption of Amazon and Oracle is
sort of where we're focused. We are getting a lot
of opportunities there. And we're always looking for driven people.
(28:14):
We've we've found that, you know, those that may not
have years and years of experience, they can make up
for it by having the drive in the motivation. And
I think those are the type of people that we're
looking for with some you know, basic level of understanding
about cybersecurity, about the cloud environments, but then very driven
(28:40):
and if we're able to sort of find those people,
those are the ones that we gravitate.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Towards out saying one last thing before I let you go,
I know you move back to the Rockville, Maryland area.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
You were in d C.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
And as I noticed, because I've talked to economic development
people on this series and also our public affairs show
with all the nonprofits, but also the biotech industry, your industry.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Three restaurants. Heck, we've got at Wegmans on Rockville Pike.
Speaker 5 (29:02):
That it's turning up.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Everybody's excited about the Pike and rose this place Montgomery County,
but Rockville is really growing tremendously.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I know there's a reason that you move back. There
could be many.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Reasons, but just talk about this area and what it
means to you and your team.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Yeah, thanks Dennis. This area, as you noted, is growing
and is vibrant. The investments that Montgomery County and the
state of Maryland are making in Rockville to make it
the Silicon Valley of biotech is starting to become evident.
We actually noticed this a few years back, and having
our customers like HHS NIH located here along with the
other HSS operating divisions like FDA, HEARSA, SAMSU, presented a
(29:41):
great opportunity for us to take our strengths and experience
that we've gained in the public sector and have it
applied to the biotech industry. This was the deciding factor
for us to come back and relocate here where we
started in Montgomery County, specifically in this area. And then
added to that is the benefit of the location actually
able to attract talent from Baltimore, Frederick, DC, and Virginia
(30:04):
just given the traffic patterns in this area. So we're
just glad to be back in this biotech hub.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Well, listen, I know you're a hop, skip and jump
from where we're doing our interview right now at I heart,
but I can't tell you how much I appreciate your time,
continued success, and thank you so much for joining us
on CEOs.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
You should know, all right, thanks Dennis.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Montgomery County, Maryland, is built for business success. With the
Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, CEOs find the support and
resources they need to help them grow and expand their businesses,
from site selection to county provided incentives.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
Together, they drive growth in key industries and foster economic
prosperity
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