Founded: 2015
Business type: Information technology
Based: Virginia Beach
Website: StratasCorp.com
Employees: 45 in 2016; 95 in 2017; 135 in 2018
Four years ago, Romeo Spino took a big risk. Not happy with where his career was going, he quit his job and with just a shoestring budget, founded StratasCorp Technologies.
“I wasn’t happy with where I was,” Spino said. “I was always taught the personal side of business should never be lost. So when I left, I decided to start my own company because I believe in treating people right, going out and meeting people face-to-face, looking them in the eye and a handshake. That’s what’s missing in business today.”
Spino didn’t have much to fall back on. He sold everything he had in his condo, and for the next 18 months worked 24/7, 365 days a year to get the company off the ground with the help of a small staff and the mentorship of Paul Rodriguez at NSC Technologies, Jeff Richardson at Beach Commercial, Terry Murphy at Kaufman and Canoles and Make Palmer at Ecountable.
StratasCorp is headquartered in Virginia Beach. It provides services and solutions to the federal government and the Defense Department for land, sea, air and space missions. It has 152 employees with satellite locations in 10 countries, including Germany, Japan and South Korea, and 17 states. The company has four divisions: Stratas Technologies, which has had the most growth; Stratas Logistics; Stratas Investigative Queries; and Stratas Media Group, which provides videography and production services to the Hampton Roads chapter of USO.
Spino, a native of Hawaii, credits his company’s rapid growth to its culture, the ability to pivot quickly, careful planning, continual reinvestment in the company, staying within budgets and keeping other people’s needs in mind.
“My employees are my assets,” the 41-year-old said. “Employees always come first, customers second and myself last. If I take care of my employees, they will take care of my customers and my customers will take care of me.”
Spino, who meets all employees face to face at least once a year no matter where they are located, also credits working harder, working smarter, providing the best price possible and outworking the competition for his company’s success.
But, with success comes challenges. Some of those the company has had to overcome include obtaining financing, building a record of good past performances with the government, keeping up with technology and deciding on the right growth strategy.
A Marine brat who grew up in Hawaii, Spino thinks Hampton Roads has a small-town feeling; a small, big city where everyone knows each other. He chose this area because he likes a place with a strong military presence and the connections that proximity to the military affords.
The company is gearing up for more business, having been awarded a $210 million government contract, which will bring in 140 more employees when the project begins Jan. 1
Within the next three to five years, Spino wants to beef up the company’s IT infrastructure, and “continue to grow, but keep the small business feeling.”
— Judith Collins