Jorge Suria - Hooah!

Hooah, LLC

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Just 18 months after becoming a client of the Advisory Board Council, this interactive communications company achieves 265% revenue growth. Even while developing his creative talents in art school, Jorge Suria knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. His dream of opening his own agency came to fruition in 2003 when he established Hooah LLC. An expression of high morale, strength and confidence popular in the military, Suria thought Hooah would be an ideal name for his firm which provides marketing, IT and video production services to clients such as the U.S. Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserves.

“There is a direct correlation between the board’s involvement and our growth.”

Tanya Zeiher
Hooah, LLC

Hooah has been utilizing the services of the SBDC at UCF’s Procurement and Technical Assistance Center since 2007. In 2008, after attending an SBDC Advisory Board Council (ABC) Reception for Small Business Owners, Suria decided to apply to the program. “We wanted to have an advisory board because we saw potential for growth and the challenges it would bring and we wanted to get objective advice from people who didn’t have any personal interest in the company,” remarked Suria. When Hooah applied to the Advisory Board Council there was some discussion on the firm’s readiness for the program as they barely met some of the ABC’s eligibility guidelines. However, the company was working hard to reach their potential and was certified as a Minority Business Enterprise and had just been granted Small Disadvantaged Business 8(a) status by the U.S. SBA. Jill Kaufman, ABC Program Manager, decided to accept Hooah as a client and began work on their board formation.

According to Suria, “One of the most valuable aspects of working with the Advisory Board Council is the fact that they specifically tailored Hooah’s board to our company’s needs. He continued, “I can’t imagine putting together a board without the SBDC’s help.” Some of the projects Hooah sought help with from their board include: contract negotiations and contract review; putting proper accounting systems in place; determining cost and price structures; and mapping out their business development strategy. According to Hooah vice president, Tanya Zeiher, “The board has helped us at a strategic level to map out our growth strategies and really hone in on what we do and who we are. They helped us define our strengths and clarify the areas of service we should focus on.” In addition, Hooah’s board recommended the company rebrand itself, re-position the firm in the marketplace and determine where they needed to focus the business. Some of the board’s best advice surrounded Hooah’s business development plan. Suria commented, “The board helped us create a very effective business development strategy which enabled us to branch into and win work in the utilities sector, a new industry segment for us.”

Today, Hooah is one of the fastest growing companies in the entire ABC program. “There is a direct correlation between the board’s involvement and our growth,” remarked Zeiher. Revenues have jumped 265% to $2 million and in 2010 the firm expects to double its sales again. Hooah has also tripled its number of employees and hired 10 new staff members. The firm targets federal and local government work and also serves large private sector organizations. In August 2009, Hooah opened a branch office in Arlington, Virginia to better serve their growing clientele in Washington, D.C. That office employs a staff of five information technology professionals. One of their main projects has involved managing a large internal website for the Army National Guard called Virtual Armory.

Kings Service Solutions

Kings Service Solutions

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In late 2009 Arnaldo and Yanet Herrero of Kings Service Solutions first approached the Small Business Development Center at UCF (SBDC at UCF) Advisory Board Council Program Manager Jill Kaufman about their interest in becoming a client of the program. Arnaldo had explained, “We want to begin taking the proper steps to become your next success story.”

It took them just three years to achieve this milestone. In that time their janitorial and commercial maintenance company has made a dramatic transformation and experienced extraordinary growth. According to Yanet, “I felt the SBDC at UCF was the right organization to pair up with to set our company’s vision on the right course. I wanted to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the company and have access to experts’ knowledge and ideas to develop our organization.”

In 2010, Kings Service Solutions (KSS) was accepted into the SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council (ABC) program and an advisory board was formed to address the company’s needs. Experts in human resources, accounting, strategic marketing, business development and law comprised their board. “We had the best of the best on our advisory board team,” remarked Yanet.

Kings Service Solutions acted immediately on what they had learned. The board helped them put in place an organizational structure, systems and processes to better manage the company and facilitate their growth. “We learned how to make the organization’s mission and vision come alive and become part of the company culture,” explained Yanet. Among the biggest benefits coming out of the board’s recommendations included improved financial management, HR policies, quality control and risk management. “I started with an idea for what my business could be and by the end of the term in the ABC program it was so much more than I expected,” said Yanet. “The Advisory Board Council program gave me the tools to attain what I wanted for our company.”

Beginning with the simple idea of providing high quality and reliable commercial cleaning and facility maintenance services, KSS has grown to serve industry leading companies throughout the state of Florida such as Trustco Bank, Florida’s Blood Centers, and Lamm and Company Partners. KSS has instituted innovative business processes and the latest janitorial management software to increase their organization’s efficiency and quality control. In fact, KSS was recently chosen to be featured by MSNBC in a television segment on how technology is helping small companies.

When KSS became a client of the Advisory Board Council in early 2010, the firm had a staff of 6 full time and 37 part time employees and leased a 1,700 sq. ft. office. Just three years later KSS has grown to be a company of 87 full time and 162 part time employees. Annual revenue jumped 270% from 2010 to 2012 and the company now owns its 3,500 sq. ft. office and warehouse suite. Importantly, Arnaldo and Yanet also strongly believe in giving back to the community and KSS is a devoted supporter of a number of worthy organizations such as Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

On the strength of its founders’ determination and the external assistance they were savvy enough to bring in, including from SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council program, Kings Service Solutions is now that “next success story” that they wanted to be. “I would recommend the Advisory Board Council to any entrepreneur that is ready to realize their vision,” remarked Yanet. “The process will transform your business culture and inevitably your business success.”