Anthony Picciano and I started our entrepreneurship journey more than 15 years ago. The time has flown by, with many ups and downs, and our business today looks nothing like our original vision. Nonetheless, we have built a company that makes us both very proud.
So what’s next? As with the first 15 years, the future will surely bring its share of challenges. One thing is certain—we want to be an impact company. Many of you know about our work as clients, partners, contractors, and vendors. While we do want to lead our industry, we also want to make an impact in other, meaningful ways.
People
When I was a child, many people joined a company and stayed there for many years, with some individuals only working for a single company. While it may seem ambitious—and perhaps unrealistic—to have our employees stay with us for their whole career, we want to do everything we can to enhance their lives and make them want to stay.
How do we do that? The obvious answer is to compensate them well. What’s just as obvious is that this is not nearly enough. We are also listening, investing time and effort into training, conducting collaborative performance reviews, and mapping out a career path. Ultimately, we care about them and their careers, and we want them to know that.
Fortunately, we both had people care about us the same way, which ultimately contributed to who we are today. So we know firsthand how these things can make an impact. We hope that our efforts will make people want to stay and grow with us. We also hope that, in the long term, they will treat current/future employees the same way and create an exponentially positive effect.
Inspiration
Historically, the private security and investigations industry has typically been dominated by law enforcement/military personnel transitioning to a second career. This reality presented a challenge since we did not have that type of background. Both Tony and I joined the industry right out of school. In fact, both of us studied economics—I at NYU and Tony at the Wharton School of Business. While this may not be the exact pedigree that comes to mind when you think of security/investigations, we proved that by listening, learning, and working hard, we could succeed. We hope that our story inspires our own employees that do not have a law enforcement/military background, as well as others out there, proving that they can have an amazing career regardless of what they studied or where they come from.
Philanthropy
It has always been important for us to give back as much as we can. As our company continues to grow, we will increase our efforts and continue to support different causes that are meaningful to us. We want to help others and show that running a business and giving back do not have to be mutually exclusive.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey. We would not be here without you. Have a great holiday season and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2022!
