Q: It's been said that relationships make or break the success of leaders. In fact, business relationships can be the proverbial elephant-in-the-room for rapid-growth startups that many leaders don't talk about.
A: Certainly, in our early days we did experience some staff turnover. People left for a variety of reasons, perhaps partially due to sales growth expectations and limited resources, but realistically, staff turnover can occur at any growth stage. Over the years, I've sought to maintain an open-door policy with staff, customers, and partners, which helps serve to anticipate and resolve change or conflict. 
Q: But success can also usher in new challenges. As you continued to gain market share, did competitors begin to recruit your salespeople?
A: Yes, because we had a well-trained, and effective sales team, some members were recruited by our competitors and left. I remember an occasion in our early years when one of our top salesmen submitted his resignation on a Friday. During a 3-hour meeting on Sunday, he told me that he was leaving to join a humanitarian organization, but on Monday morning I discovered that he was already employed by one of our competitors.
Q: How did you react?
A: I was so angry at the time that I vowed to myself to find a way to acquire the competitor that hired him, and then fire him!
Q: Did that ever happen?
A: Yes. And no. I did acquire the competitor a few years later, but chose to retain him as a trusted member of our new sales team.
Q: How did that work out?
A: Actually, several years later he left again to join another competitor, however, today, many of our other original sales, marketing, and support team members are still with the company serving in management roles.

Q: Throughout your life it seems as if you've been on an urgent mission. You enrolled in college when you were still a teenager, earned your Ph.D. at 24, and it appears have carried this same sense of urgency into the development of your business.
A: During my undergraduate and graduate school years, I wanted to hurry up and complete my studies and begin scientific work in my field, and I did carry that same expectancy into business.
Q: People say that you are a very patient man, but that you have an urgency to get things done.
A: My drive to succeed is born out of a childhood decision to study hard to be the best, not only so I could succeed in life, but also avoid the challenges that I faced growing up in poverty.
Q: What is the meaning of the term Scitec Speed?
A: Scitec Speed was a term that we coined to help communicate a sense of urgency to get things done at a high rate of speed. Early one morning in the 1990s, I was sitting in my office at the then Scitec headquarters at University Avenue in Urbana, Illinois, and realized that by 6:30 a.m. I had already replied to all my emails, returned all my voice mails from different regions around the world, drank 2 cups of coffee, and read several news articles! Suddenly the term Scitec Speed came into my mind, so I immediately sent an email on effectiveness and efficiency to the entire staff. We were the new hotel phone manufacturer in the market, had limited resources, and needed to compete for and win every hotel phone sales opportunity.
Q: Looking back, it's remarkable how you were able to quickly accomplish so much with so little as a startup business venture.
A: To me, my early success is an example of the American dream. As Americans, each of us with a drive to excel and a willingness to work, are able to see our dreams come to life.

Q: So 46 credit cards later, you had established Scitec as a viable hotel phone manufacturer, but didn't you encounter yet another challenge during that period?
A: Yes. In 1997, Teledex, LLC., the largest provider of hotel phones globally, filed a federal lawsuit against my company, claiming that our new Aegis Series products infringed upon their established phone designs. We had awakened a sleeping lion. 
Q: Awakend a lion?
A: Yes, because of our early success, it seemed as if all the resources of the then industry leader had been raised up against us.
Q: For a new business funded with 46 personal credit cards, it must have been a big financial burden to defend yourself in a U.S. Federal court.
A: Yes! I was forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, airfares, and hotel expenses to travel back and forth from Champaign, Illinois to San Jose, California to defend our position in court.
Q: What was the outcome?
A: After spending 6 months in court and away from running my start-up company, I couldn't afford spending more money and time defending myself. Finally, I decided to settle the case.
Q: So you settled the case in court, but how did you fare in the hospitality marketplace.
A: Because hoteliers embraced our new products, sales continued to grow exponentially, and we were able to survive the challenge.
Q: What did you learn from this experience?
A: I learned the value of perseverance and thinking positive. Also, being sued by the largest player in our industry dramatically increased my self-confidence. It proved that I was doing something right and successful! And 11 years later, we successfully acquired the assets of Teledex, LLC. Today we manufacture, market, and support Teledex brand hotel phones globally.

​Q: Pre-selling to 200+ hotels must have been a great launch into the hospitality market, but how were you able to build on this early success?
A: In Q2 1998, I made the decision to expand our Aegis Series model lineup beyond industry standard 2500 sets, to include feature phone models with full-length faceplates and programmable guest service keys.
Q: That was a bold move, but how were you able to compete against entrenched competitors?
A: It took hard work, and commitment, but it also required faith that we could grow sales in the face of tough competition with the right product and business strategies.
Q: How were you able to secure funding for the expanded product line?
A: That was in the 1990s. The banks and venture capital groups weren't interested in taking risk, but because I had a strong educational background and a Ph.D. degree, the credit card companies at that time were ready and willing to grant me credit.
Q: But interest rates were high at that time. How were you able to fund your company's growth and expansion with credit cards and still navigate the impending debt? That certainly required strong faith!
A: It wasn't easy. In fact at one point I had maxed out 46 credit cards! But because our products became an immediate hit in the marketplace, our sales began to grow exponentially at 120% annually, and we were able to quickly retire the credit card debt and return to a strong financial footing.
Q: Retiring the credit card debt was a major achievement, but didn't you still need operating capital?
A: Actually, after retiring the credit card debt, I was careful to control costs and manage cash flow to avoid further corporate debt, which continues to be my operating mantra today. 

Q: So you began manufacturing message waiting lights, but what led you into the hotel phone business?
​A: As I continued to listen to the market, I discovered that there was a growing demand for reliable hotel phones, so I devised a plan to design, manufacture, and market hotel phones under the original company name Scitec, Inc.
Q: When did you found Scitec, Inc.?
A: I founded Scitec in 1993 as a custom manufacturing and consulting company.
Q: Why did you choose the name Scitec?
A: Scitec was short for Science and Technology, which was not only a logical expression of my own science, and technology education and experience, but an acknowledgement of emerging science and technology developments in the marketplace. 
Q: But when did the company actually begin manufacturing hotel phones?
A: In 1995. As I continued to study the hospitality telephone market, I discovered that refurbished 2500 Series telephones accounted for a big slice of the market, so I made the decision to offer an economy version of the industry standard 2500 desk set.
Q: How did that work out?
A: An instant success! Scitec launched its first 2500 Series telephone under the Aegis® brand in Q2 1995. We pre-sold over 30,000 phones to 200+ hotels throughout the U.S. prior to product release. Then in Q4 1995, we introduced a redesigned low-cost 2500 set priced to compete with refurbished phones.