South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub
18
Nov, 2023

By Adam Elitzur

Two Decades of Empowering Clients: The I.T. Solutions of South Florida Journey

Read Time 3 Minutes

As the 20th anniversary of I.T. Solutions of South Florida approaches, the company’s founders reflect on a history marked by growth, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to client satisfaction.

The Pizzos, Deana Pizzo, CEO, and Jason Pizzo, CIO, founded I.T. Solutions of South Florida out of their living room when they had two young children. The company is a technology services provider based in Hypoluxo, Florida that quickly evolved from a break-fix operation to a managed service provider (MSP).  Today, I.T. Solutions of South Florida boasts a robust portfolio of services, including helpdesk support, cloud infrastructure management, and cybersecurity.

“We make sure your mouse works when you click,” Deana Pizzo remarked. “Just as important, we make sure no one else can click that mouse for you, or watch you when you click. What we do is all behind the curtains, like the stage director of a show with lots of special effects. Until an end user calls us, of course – then our team goes front and center.”

One of the most exciting projects in the company’s history involved supporting the Porsche Motorsport North America racing team, setting up their line of sights and telemetry. Each race car was equipped with seven servers, communicating back to the pit various data points such as tire pressure and fuel levels. Porsche needed to ensure that this telemetry data was transmitted in real-time without interruptions for the fast-paced car racing environment, so they leaned on I.T. Solutions of South Florida.

The company places an emphasis on customer education. They have found that educating end users leads to fewer problems. Additionally, the company’s status as a woman-owned business sets it apart in the I.T. industry, bringing diversity and a unique perspective to the forefront.

All of I.T. Solutions of South Florida’s offerings are included for a single price, with their all-inclusive pricing model. Their target market includes organizations that are headquartered in South Florida but with multiple locations throughout the United States. They aim for a strong corporate relationship through in-person meetings. They boast low client turnover, attributing their success to these relationships. Each client has a dedicated account manager, with weekly calls. They recently held a wine event for their clients to get together.

The company prides itself on its proactive approach, ensuring that clients’ technological needs are met before issues arise. This strategy has not only fostered a loyal customer base but also garnered significant accolades, including Pizzo being featured on the South Florida Business Journal’s Top 25 Influential Business Women list. The company’s culture is another cornerstone of its success. Recognized as one of the South Florida Business Journal’s Best Places to Work, I.T. Solutions of South Florida understands that satisfied employees lead to satisfied customers.

I.T. Solutions of South Florida has a team of 20 dedicated professionals, serving almost 50 clients with 2,500 end users. The company is expanding its services to include a new division focused on Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC). This addition is particularly timely, as businesses increasingly seek to navigate the complex landscape of government regulations and compliance standards. The new GRC division will assist clients by conducting audits and helping them develop internal policies tailored to their specific needs, particularly in the area of cyber insurance.

For more information about I.T. Solutions of South Florida and its services, visit I.T. Solutions of South Florida.

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17
Oct, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

StevenDouglas celebrates 40 years in business as recruiting leaders

Read Time 4 Minutes

StevenDouglas, a national search and interim resources firm founded in Miami in 1983, officially turns 40 years old.

Over the last 40 years, StevenDouglas has become a nationally recognized, Top 25 firm in the U.S. offering Executive Search, Professional Recruiting, Technology Staffing & Interim Resource services, with over twenty-five locations domestically, as well as a presence in Latin America and Canada. StevenDouglas has grown over 2500% since 2005, making it one of the fastest-growing firms in America.

The firm has a lot to celebrate as they have not only solidified their dominance in Florida being ranked the #1 Executive Search firm in the state, but the company has also made substantial gains over the last decade to become a top recruiting firm in the U.S.

In March of 2023, StevenDouglas moved to new updated, state-of-the-art offices in Broward County to support their on-going national expansion to over 25 markets in the U.S. as well as a presence in Latin America and Canada.

Adriana Duque, Director Of Client Services at StevenDouglas, posted a recent social media post stating, “Absolutely thrilled to share this incredible milestone with you all!  I’m honored to work with such an amazing organization. A personal thank you to our clients and candidates for trusting in us. Here’s to many more years of success.” Adriana is also a South Florida Tech Hub Ambassador and involved technology community member.

Founder Steve Sadaka and CEO Matthew Shore have opportunistically grown the firm from 1 office and 15 employees into a national business with 25 offices and over 165 professionals and over 450 active project associates and consultants.  This rapid expansion was based on their belief that by providing exceptional services to clients and working closely with them as trusted advisors, you’re able to create successful outcomes.  The firm’s success is evident as it reached the milestone of $130 million in revenue in 2022 and has been the recipient of various awards and top rankings in recent months.

“On this big milestone anniversary, I am feeling grateful for the trust and confidence that our amazing clients, candidates and employees have put in us for so many years”, said StevenDouglas Founder & Chairman Steve Sadaka who went on to say, “I remain committed to our roots as a boutique high-touch service business, with a great culture where employees can be themselves and enjoy coming to work, while having great opportunities to grow personally and professionally.  We are doing something special here and I can’t imagine the last 40 years any other way.”

StevenDouglas is also celebrating the firm’s unprecedented evolution over the last decade, being honored this year with multiple awards including being named on the prestigious Inc. 5000 which celebrates the fastest-growing private companies in the United States.  StevenDouglas’ dominance of the Florida market after 40 years in business has brought many firm accolades in 2023, including being ranked #1 Executive Search Firm in South Florida by the South Florida Business Journal (SFBJ) and appearing on the Hunt Scanlon Top 25 Executive Search Firm list which ranks firms across the Americas. These rankings position StevenDouglas as not only the #1 Executive Search firm in Florida, but also in the southeastern United States.  They were also recognized by the SFBJ as the Business of the Year in the $100-250m category and Best Places to Work.

StevenDouglas CEO Matt Shore said about the firm turning 40 this year, “It’s an honor every day to lead such an amazing team and be a part of a South Florida mainstay that companies have counted on since the early 1980’s.  Over the last two decades we’ve used our drive and passion for excellence to expand our footprint and capabilities to be able to serve a broader client base and create more positive outcomes for our clients and candidates.

While StevenDouglas reaffirms its commitment to creating great outcomes for the clients and candidates they serve, the last 40 years is proof that this recruiting firm is equally committed to cultivating an incredible corporate culture for its employees and supporting the community by partnering with various local causes and non-profits.

StevenDouglas states its mission is “To be committed to a culture where experienced recruiting and client service professionals can truly act as trusted advisors that care about people and put relationships first, act with integrity, and give back to the community all while providing industry leading services”.  At 25 years old, when Steve Sadaka founded StevenDouglas as a Search firm in Miami specializing in Accounting and Finance recruiting, he never dreamed he’d be here 40 years later with offices across the country. The one thing he always knew is that he wanted to make a positive impact with his business.  StevenDouglas has clearly lived up to Steve’s goal over the last four decades and is banking on the fact that this kind of perspective will serve them to continue to grow over the next 40 years.

To learn more about StevenDouglas, visit https://www.stevendouglas.com/

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16
Oct, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Endeavor celebrates a decade of impact across Miami’s entrepreneurial ecosystem

Read Time 4 Minutes

On October 11th, Endeavor Miami rang in their 10th anniversary with sunset celebration at Joia Beach in Parrot Jungle Miami.

The event was a celebration of impact, “empowering entrepreneurs to dream bigger, scale faster, and pay it forward,” as the Endeavor team would say.

Endeavor, a global organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs in 40+ countries.

In 2013, Endeavor expanded from Latin America into the United States with their first office in the country based in Miami. The expansion was funded by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation who approved a $2M grant in 2012. South Florida has always been a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity and boasted a great work-life balance, yet struggled to support scaling startups. Endeavor Miami was on a mission to change that.

The event drew an impressive crowd of local leaders including two distinguished guests, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava and City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who both addressed the crowd and congratulated Endeavor Miami and the team for their accomplishments over the past decade. Other attendees in attendance included Ernest Bachrach, Chairman of the Board, Lucas Chaya del Pino, Head of Dell for Startups, Matt Haggman, Founding Board Member and other leaders such as Melissa Medina, Johnna Mikkola, Erick Gavin, and our very own Tech Hub CEO Nikki Cabus. It was a great night for all!

“Endeavor Entrepreneurs generated $800 million in revenue and created nearly 5,000 jobs in 2022! That, my friends, IS IMPACT!” exclaimed Duran.

“Our journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. It’s about people coming together, like our Board Members, mentors, partners, and team members, who understand the potential of entrepreneurs to change the world. All of them make our work possible. And, of course, the show’s true stars, our incredible entrepreneurs, ” shared Claudia Duran, Endeavor Miami’s Managing Director.

Since launching in Miami in 2013, Endeavor has built and supported a portfolio of more than 25 companies led by over 40 entrepreneurs who have created over 5,000 employment positions throughout Florida as they scaled and hired talent. This momentum has brought in more than $800M in annual revenues in 2022. That’s huge!

According to a January 2022 Endeavor article, “As of 2022, 123 companies have completed our cohort initiatives and have gone on to employ over 1,500 individuals and generated $131M in annual revenues.” We can’t wait to see what those stats look like as we close out 2023.

Duran joined Endeavor Miami in 2019, where her determination, leadership experience, and thorough understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset have led the office to new heights of success. Endeavor Miami has recently launched Endeavor ScaleUp and EndeavorLAB. Both programs are exclusively for companies based in Florida, as we believe in the power of economic transformation by our local companies and we want to help write their stories.

Endeavor ScaleUp is a cohort-based initiative that equips high-growth founders in Florida with the network and resources to gain clarity on their path to scale. Endeavor selects up to 10 companies following its global selection criteria for high-impact entrepreneurs. They become your support system and community during and long after Endeavor ScaleUp is over.

EndeavorLAB is a cohort-based initiative to support underrepresented founders in Florida in building a foundation for scale. Current and past cohorts include a Latinx Founders, Women Funders and Black Founders cohorts sponsored and supported by VensureHR, Venture Miami, Dell for Startups and FPL Be PowerFL.

This year was the first time Endeavor Miami partnered with a city outside of Miami-Dade county in an effort to regionalize their efforts. The pilot program  was conducted with The City of Boca Raton through a two-month accelerated growth program where Boca-based founders took advantage of Endeavor Miami’s community of founders and experts, while gaining insights on how they can scale their business.

Congratulations to Endeavor Miami – we’re looking forward to the next 10 years!

To learn more about Endeavor Miami, visit https://endeavormiami.org/

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20
Jun, 2023

By Riley Kaminer

Founder of OZ Digital Consulting Reflects on 25 Years of South Florida Innovation

Read Time 3 Minutes

Business: Offering clients the strategic technical tools and expertise to guide their decision-making, drive data, improve customer experience, and increase efficiency. 

Founded: 1998

HQ: Fort Lauderdale

Employees: 300+

Website: FollowOZ.com

Leading South Florida tech entrepreneur reflects on the lessons he learned over the last two and a half decades.

OZ Digital Consulting recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with a celebratory breakfast and networking event in their newly renovated office space in Ft. Lauderdale. Attendees included Bob Swindell, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance CEO, South Florida Tech Hub Board and Staff, business partners and community members. Distinguished guest, Broward County Commissioner Mayor Lamar P. Fisher, facilitated the event.

For Amjad Shamim, the key to long-term business success is a relentless focus on the people that make business happen: both customers and employees alike. That’s why at Fort Lauderdale-based OZ Digital Consulting, CEO Shamim takes pride in delivering top-tier solutions to clients while also offering employees a great place to work.

“You do good work for your clients, and business will come – money will come,” Shamim told South Florida Tech Hub. He added that OZ Digital Consulting has a customer retention rate of around 90%, which is much higher than average for services firms. 

But critical to achieving this high level of success is having a strong team powering these efforts. “It’s so difficult to retain good talent, but we’ve had people with us for 20 years,” he shared, noting that employees appreciate the strong culture Shamim and his colleagues have invested in building over the decades.

“We treat people with mutual respect,” Shamim continued, acknowledging that employees and customers alike enjoy the consensus-building approach OZ Digital Consulting takes to every project.

Shamim attributes part of the firm’s early success to the fact that he and his brother and co-founder Asad had technical backgrounds rather than sales backgrounds – and approached business development accordingly.

“We’re not sales guys, so we just started working with our clients. We did good work, we continued to get more work, and we continued to grow.”

But it wasn’t all about growth for the Shamim brothers. “For us it wasn’t about growing really big, it was about maintaining the culture.” Of course, maintaining their culture played a role in helping them grow.

As Shamim looked back on the last 25 years of OZ Digital Consulting during our interview, his excitement about his work is palpable. “I really enjoy what I do. The reason I keep doing it is because, honestly, it’s not work for me – it’s fun.”

“My wife already knows that I’ll never retire. Even if I do something with this company, I’ll do something else because this is so fun.”

Shamim hopes to share this same enthusiasm with all of OZ Digital Consulting’s 300+ staff members around the world. “I want you to keep our culture of making sure that everyone is enjoying what they do.”

OZ Digital Consulting has grown alongside South Florida’s tech ecosystem. “20 plus years ago, I remember going to Tallahassee lobbying for technology investments in our area,” he said, explaining that there was no major enthusiasm for South Florida tech at that time. His clients felt the same, with one San Francisco-based client seven years ago delivering Shamim the backhanded compliment that she was “surprised there were good tech companies like yours in South Florida.”

Now, Shamim affirmed that the situation is much different: “We’re still in the early stages, but people are taking us seriously. So I see good things happening.”

 

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Two Decades of Empowering Clients: The I.T. Solutions of South Florida Journey
StevenDouglas celebrates 40 years in business as recruiting leaders
Endeavor celebrates a decade of impact across Miami’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
Founder of OZ Digital Consulting Reflects on 25 Years of South Florida Innovation