STORIES of $100 million gains FROM fellows
Case Study #1: GROWTH IN REVENUE
BILL ROARK
Company: Torch Technologies
Location: Huntsville, AL
Industry: Defense Industry Services
Year Graduated from Birthing of Giants: 2018
“I wish I had been invited to a program like this when Torch Technologies was at $100 million in revenue.”
In 2020, Torch Technologies hit the Inc. 5000 list for the 14th time with revenues of $600 million. When Bill attended Birthing of Giants Fellowship Week in 2018, Torch Technologies revenues were approximately $300 million which made Bill the CEO with the highest company revenues to attend the program at the time. At graduation day, Bill shared with the group “I wish I had been invited to a program like this when Torch Technologies was at $100 million in revenues.” Torch Technologies started Freedom Real Estate upon Bill’s completion of The Fellowship Program which created a property portfolio and an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Torch’s hometown of Huntsville, AL. That ecosystem has allowed Torch to bid for more and larger Federal government contracts, increasing its revenues.
Case Study #2: GROWTH IN COMPANY VALUE
JERE SIMPSON
Company: KiteWire
Location: Arlington, VA
Industry: B2B Software
Year Graduated from Birthing of Giants: 2015
“Without a doubt, Birthing of Giants added $100 million to the value of my business. “
When Jere started his Birthing of Giants Program in 2015, his company would best be described as a custom software shop that did $4 million in sales annually. After going through Birthing of Giants “financial model transformation,” the company reinvented itself as a “Software-as-a-Service” in the mobility space, then again as an integrator of advanced planning software to Fortune 500 clients and the Federal Government. Today, the business does $75 million in revenue. Businesses like Jere’s (recurring revenue SaaS model platforms) are often valued at several times revenue whereas custom software shops would likely be valued at a multiple of earnings. “Without a doubt, Birthing of Giants added at least $100 million to the value of my business.”
(See “How I Turned a $4 Million Business into a $40 Million Business with only 8 additional employeesl“).
Case Study #3: GROWTH IN COMPANY SALES
SHLOMO BIRNBAUM
Company: Crazy Cups
Location: Paterson, NJ
Industry: E-commerce
Year Graduated from Birthing of Giants: 2015
“The experts at Birthing of Giants showed me how to turn a $100,000 division into a $100 million business. “
When Shlomo started his Birthing of Giants Program in 2015, he ran a $7 million office furniture business with a small division that delivered coffee products to their corporate clients. After grinding through the Birthing of Giants roadmap, Shlomo came to a different conclusion: the corporate coffee business could also be a consumer coffee business that delivered over channels like Amazon.com. From that pivot came a thriving $25 million spin-off beverage marketing business that ranked as Inc. Magazine’s #11 fastest-growing company in their Inc. 5000 list. “The experts at Birthing of Giants showed me how to turn a $100,000 division into a business that will hit $100 million in 3 years.”
(See “How I Made #11 on Inc. 5000 Listl“).
Case Study #4: GROWTH IN
NEW SALES CHANNELS
ROB HRABE
Company: VRC Metal Systems
Location: Box Elder, SD
Industry: Industrial Engineering and Construction
Year Graduated from Birthing of Giants: 2018
“The Acceleration Program at Birthing of Giants helped me create the company’s $100 million roadmap. “
Rob Hrabe had a challenge when he started Birthing of Giants Program in 2018. His proprietary cold metal spray process was valuable to most infrastructure-heavy industries but so far, he had only managed to break into the government contracting sector because of past connections. Working closely with a Board of Expert member through our Acceleration Program, Hrabe has been able to develop new channels by constructing unique value propositions for each industry VRC Metal Systems targeted. “The Acceleration Program gave me direct, hands on support that helped me transform VRC Metal Systems into a business with a roadmap to $100 million.”
Case Study #5: GROWTH IN
PHILANTHROPIC IMPACT
NORM BRODSKY
Company: Birthing of Giants
Location: New York, NY
Industry: Education
Year Graduated from Birthing of Giants: 1997
“A lifetime of entrepreneurship has allowed me to create a $100 million legacy. “
I was one of the first faculty members of Birthing of Giants when it launched. I was already a popular columnist for Inc. Magazine and they started this new education effort with M.I.T. It’s been more than 20 years but I’ve had the greatest privileges of my life thanks to my success in business, culminating with the endowment of the business college at my alma mater, Rider University, which renamed the school The Norm Brodsky College of Business in 2019. “A lifetime of entrepreneurship has allowed me to create a $100 million legacy for future generations “
(See “Why you were nominated for Birthing of Giants Fellowship Program“).