Kevin: Welcome back to the Price of Business.
I am your host, Kevin Price, talking to you about you and your business.
I have been talking a lot about the 101 Best and Brightest.
We have been playing a big role in that event and delighted to have another one of their
winners, Michael Samadi.
Michael: Yes.
Kevin: Pretty close.
I know I am pretty close.
He is with a group called EPMI Inc. and their website, by the way, is EPMAinc.com, And,
Michael, we're so glad to have you with us.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Give us your elevator speech, if you will.
Michael: Well, I am glad to be here, Kevin.
EPMA is basically a project management consulting company.
We help organizations with project management challenges.
Whether it is the people, the training, the toolset.
We provide basically end to end solutions to help them become more efficient in how
they manage their projects, but also to help them be able to look at data around projects,
to look at historical facts, so that they can make better improvements moving forward
and better decisions.
Kevin: Tell us a little about the company itself.
How many employees do you all have?
Michael: We are about 35 people now.
We started five years ago.
Essentially, we've been doubling in size every year.
Our revenue growth is about 9,900% in that period.
We're very fast growing and one of the key things about our company is the culture behind
the company.
It's very people oriented.
If it wasn't for the people, we would not be where we are.
There is a real sense of responsibility and ownership throughout the entire organization
when it comes to clients, the work we do, and everything.
Kevin: Very good, Michael.
Let me ask you about the 101 Best and Brightest.
Tell us a little bit about that experience.
Michael: It's wonderful to be recognized.
It is something that we really pride ourselves in.
Again, it comes back down to the people of the company, because ultimately it's their
say that gets us there.
Being recognized by Houston's Best and Brightest companies is obviously something that we are
very proud of to have and we, hopefully, will continue to put these accolades on our wall
as we go along.
As we grow.
Kevin: The business is only five years old, and you are already getting that kind of recognition.
Was this your first year to attempt to be recognized, to be a part of that process?
Michael: I think this year we got recognized as the 16th best company to work for in Texas.
Kevin: Wow.
Michael: This then led on...also we found out about the Houston Best and Brightest,
so we got recognized by that as well.
Kevin: Very good.
That kind of growth, it sounds like you're having both massive revenue growth and then
employee growth.
That's very difficult to maintain culture when you've got an organization doubling in
size.
What would you say is the secret to doing that?
Michael: The hiring process.
You basically have to have a standard that you're not willing to compromise on.
Essentially every time, you raise the bar because now that we got recognized by the
Best and Brightest and so forth, we have about 10 applicants a day applying to want to come
to the company.
Obviously, you don't want to lower the bar, so it is a very, very lengthy process to join
the company.
There is panel interviews.
There's assessments.
Most people give up.
That really is the secret, because you want that passion to join such a company.
Ultimately, at the end of the day nobody joins the company until they have finally met with
me, because I don't look for the skills.
I look for the cultural fit.
Is this person going to be able to fit and help the company continue to grow?
Kevin: Michael Samadi, he is with EPMA Inc., and that is EPMAinc.com.
Great story.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Michael: You're welcome.
Thanks for having me.
Kevin: Keep it up.
I look forward to seeing you in the future.
Michael: Thank you so much.
Kevin: All right.
When we come back: much more for you.
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