Business: VXIT provides small- and medium-sized businesses with an outsourced IT department.
HQ: West Palm Beach
Management team: Co-founders Paul Vedder, Managing Director; Craig Royston, Director of Technology.
No. of employees: 11
Business growth: 50% to 100% revenue growth every year.
Website: www.vxit.com
VXIT’s core values: Empathy, Big Picture Thinking, Fair Approach, Exceeding Expectations, Balance, Integrity, Intentionality, Communications
It typically doesn’t make business sense for small and medium sized companies to staff their own IT departments. That’s where VXIT steps in.
Paul Vedder
“What we do is provide an entire outsourced IT department to small and medium businesses,” said Paul Vedder, Managing Director of VXIT based in West Palm Beach.
“For a flat monthly fee, they can outsource all of their infrastructure and their day to day technical support to our company. We maintain and manage everything from laptop computers to servers, email systems, phone systems, backups – we do everything.”
Vedder and Craig Royston run VXIT. Together, they have nearly 30 years of experience in the tech industry. Before co-founding VXIT, Vedder was an an IT consultant for the FDIC, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Arkansas and worked in the non-profit space, among other roles. Royston served as a manager of consulting services in New Jersey and studied IT at Rowan University and Chubb Institute.
VXIT, a team of 11 in a fun, modern office near the Grandview Public Market, has grown its annual revenues 50% to 100% every year, while helping its clients grow their own businesses by properly using technology, Vedder said. Clients include Levatas, Ancient Nutrition, Three Natives and other retailers, manufacturing companies and doctor and lawyer offices. “We provide IT services, like help desk support, and maintain all the servers and everything else in the background.”
VXIT HAS BEEN HIRING
Craig Royston
In job candidates, VXIT looks for people skills first and foremost. The company also seeks strong technical skills of course but how the candidate will fit in with VXIT’s culture is infinitely more important, Vedder said.
Indeed, the importance of soft skills can’t be underestimated, Vedder added. “I believe I am a successful IT person because I understand people and I also understand the business. You can engineer solutions all day long, but if you forget there is a person sitting behind that screen or keyboard, you will have lost that battle all year long.”
Vedder was born and raised in Palm Beach County. He didn’t graduate from college, and he doesn’t think that’s necessary for people to be successful in tech. However, he believes internships are huge. Nothing beats real world, on-the-job experience, he said.
“There is a lot of talent in Palm Beach County and I am excited about our future. I love that we live in paradise and that we are in an environment where we can work hard and play hard,” said Vedder, who enjoys boating and hiking and has mastered the unicycle. “It’s a great place to live and to raise kids. The cost of living is increasing but it is still cheaper than a lot of cities.”
GROWING A TECH COMMUNITY
Vedder has been involved with Palm Beach Tech Association since the organization’s founding in 2015.
He has served on the Palm Beach Tech board and is transitioning to the board of 1909, a co-working space, accelerator and mentorship platform in West Palm Beach founded out of Palm Beach Tech. Within Palm Beach Tech, he chairs the IT Member Council, provides IT support to Palm Beach Tech as needed, has helped with hackathons and served on the 1909 planning committee — “whatever Joe needs.”
As to 1909, Vedder said, “I am impressed with the community surrounding it that has made it really successful. I‘m excited to dive in more in the coming year, including doing more mentoring.”
Vedder shared this advice for young techies: “Find a good mentor. Learn where your weaknesses are and work on them constantly. Having a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset is huge.”
