A technology services firm that got its start during the coronavirus pandemic says it's found fast success by identifying and filling gaps in the local market.
Streamline Technologies LLC, based in Louisville, offers an array of technology services including audio/visual (AV), structured cabling, telephony and IT managed services. President Tristan Myers told me the company got its start in AV, but quickly evolved as its clients were looking for a one-stop-shop of services. Many clients wanted to build out better technology infrastructure during the digital-focused environment of the pandemic.
"It came from necessity... I feel like in our Kentuckiana region, there are only a handful of companies that are similar to us," he said. "Audio/visual is my background, but we offer so much more than that as a full technology service solution provider. There were some gaps in the market that we saw and are trying to take advantage of."
That strategy is certainly working, Myers added, as the company had a revenue of $700,000 in 2020 and is projecting well-over $3 million in revenue in 2021. That's 328% in year-over-year growth, for those doing the math.
Streamline Technologies was co-founded by CEO Brad Ruch. Ruch also has a partial stake in the company via his private equity firm Ruch Equity Inc.
Ruch, who has a background in the insurance industry, told me real estate is a significant portion of the PE firm's portfolio, in addition to a title company, a sanitizing company and Streamline.
"It's exciting — this thing is really off to the races right now," he said, adding Streamline is operating debt free. "It's like every day we're talking to a new person who's been looking for us, they've been looking for this relationship."
Myers said while he couldn't offer specific details about the company's clients, Streamline has been working to do technology upgrades for about 10 Fortune 500 companies since the start of 2021 and has two other significant deals in progress this fall. Working with such large organizations as a small, locally-owned firm is made possible by its relationship with Kinly Inc., a global provider of AV collaboration and support services.
In a news release, Chico Dominguez, senior vice president of technical operations at Kinly said it made sense to grow its brand in the Louisville region through its expanded relationship with Streamline.
"Tristan and his team were referred to us by a local enterprise client for the excellent work provided to them recently," Dominguez said. "This introduction enabled us to work with the Streamline team on significant client deployments this past year that support our regional enterprise clients’ sectors including logistics, pharmaceuticals, technology, higher education and manufacturing.
"This partnership has already flourished and created new opportunities, enabling the team to support our clients much more effectively and competitively."
