In 2018, the second-biggest client of Orlando-based Kavaliro decided to no longer use the company’s staffing services.
That was a bad sign for Kavaliro. After all, its two biggest clients at the time accounted for half of the company’s revenue, Chief Operations Officer Bill Peppler told Orlando Inno.
However, that news caused Kavaliro leaders to reflect on the direction of the business, which led to a “eureka moment,” Peppler said.
Kavaliro decided to diversify beyond staffing, and created new arms of the business such as managed IT services, project management and Salesforce support.
The result was record revenue of roughly $50 million in 2022. As Kavaliro continues to grow these additional services, the company expects to add at least 25-30 local jobs this year and reach $60 million in revenue, Peppler said.
One of the biggest drivers of growth has been the Salesforce practice, which launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Kavaliro helps clients customize and implement Salesforce, the popular sales and customer service software.
After pulling in $200,000 in revenue its first year, the Salesforce practice made $2 million last year, with $6 million in revenue forecasted this year, Peppler said.
A nationwide company, Kavaliro is headquartered at a 10,000-square-foot office in the Central Florida Research Park area. With 120 internal employees companywide, Kavaliro will hire analysts, proposal writers and tech workers this year, Peppler said. There are four open Orlando jobs listed on Kavaliro’s website.
In addition to the job and revenue growth sparked by the diversification of Kavaliro’s business, the company is better prepared for an economic downturn, Peppler said. As an example, Peppler highlighted that Kavaliro’s two biggest clients in 2020 represented 50% of its revenue; today, its two biggest clients account for 12% of its revenue.
Despite concerns of a coming recession and layoffs at tech employers, Peppler said Kavaliro has a bright outlook for 2023. “Knock on wood, we’re not seeing that. In our space of high-tech and IT, it’s less than 1% unemployment in Orlando.”
Unemployment in the tech industry typically is much lower than in the broader U.S. economy. For example, the U.S posted a tech unemployment rate of less than 2% in November, compared to 3.7% for all jobs, according to the latest report from the Computing Technology Industry Association.
However, there is still room for tech employment to grow in Orlando. A report released in December by the nonprofit advocacy group Orlando Innovation Economy Group found the proportion of tech jobs in metro Orlando, and the tech industry’s contribution to regional GDP, are less than the national average.
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