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B U S I N E S S P RO F I L E S 46 B U S I N E S S P R O F I L E S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T Over the next 10 years, Doug and his team built a loyal follow- ing in Maine, known for their high standards, expertise, and dogged determination to get projects done and done right. And Doug could talk the talk and walk the walk. As a technician he knew what was needed to get the job done, as a salesperson he knew what his cus- tomers wanted, and as the owner of Connectivity Point, he knew that together, those insights would help define Connectivity Point. Little by little, Doug also made strategic acquisitions, growing the company's footprint into New Hampshire in 2005, then later, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. Service offer- ings now include audio/visual, security systems, sound masking and technology deployment, in addition to the original network cabling and telephone systems offered. At 20 years old, Connectivity Point operates regionally out of five states, and nationally and internationally through partners and subcontractors. e company has grown from a team of five to over 200. e responsibility Doug felt that day in 2002, to take care of his employees and his customers, is highly visible today. It is reflected in the employees that have been here since the early days, and those who come onboard now, seeing the vision that Doug has brought to life. Dan H. still works for Connectivity Point, and his daughter, Katie, currently works as a scheduler in Operations. at's the kind of place Connectivity Point is. Where you stay until you retire, and your kids want to work. Because Doug made it the kind of company that looks to the future and understands that the employees are who make Connectivity Point a success. As Doug and his employees celebrate the 20th anniversary of Connectivity Point, he reflects on the last 20 years and what he's learned. e most important thing he's learned over the years: When I first started Connectivity Point, and we were smaller with less employees, our focus was all about customer service. We took care of every customer because each of them was extremely important to our success. As the company grew, MY focus had to change from customer service to employee service. I made sure we were treating our employees the same way we treated our cus- tomers. As we have seen over the last couple of years because of COVID, and the volatility in the hiring market, every employee is precious and vital to the company. If we hadn't already estab- lished an Employee-First Philosophy in the run up to COVID I'm not sure we would have had the tools to survive and even flourish over the last two years. I t wa s D o u g Wat t 's f i r s t d ay o n t h e j o b at New England Communications, circa 1997. He was assigned to work with Dan Hodgkin, an industry veteran who had been doing this work for years. Doug's job was to wire and hang a new phone on the wall, except he didn't know how. When Dan saw that the phone was hanging crookedly AND not wired cor- rectly, he ripped it off the wall. Later Doug overheard him telling his boss that "the new kid doesn't know anything." ese days Doug knows a lot of things and he learned them with Dan by his side. After New England Communications, Doug went to Mass-based telecom and network integrator, Point to Point. ey were opening an office in Maine and were bringing Doug on as their lead tech. Doug recruited Dan to join his new team. Within the year, the company had to make some decisions to financially tighten their belts. When the sales staff was cut, Doug took on the dual role of tech and salesperson. Every morning he left for work with a work shirt and a dress shirt in his truck. Juggling meetings with pulling cable, Doug helped grow the company. en the dotcom bubble burst. Point to Point filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and asked Doug to turn off the lights, effective immedi- ately. But he couldn't do it. He had recruited the technicians on his team, and they were counting on him for a paycheck. His custom- ers, the ones he had cultivated, were relying on him and his team to complete their projects. As Doug saw it, there was only one way out; he was going to have to start a business of his own. Doug negotiated a deal to buy the company, trucks and every- thing in the Maine office and Massachusetts warehouse, even down to the mops and brooms. Shifting to work out of his basement and garage, Doug eliminated expensive overhead, and with four technicians by his side, got to work building his new business. One of the technicians was Dan H. You remember Dan from the beginning of this story, right? Well, once he got Doug straightened out and taught him how to install a wall phone plate, he continued to work with him at Point to Point, and now, had committed to help Doug make this new business work. Connectivity Point Design & Installation Celebrating 20 Years of Technician-Built Success P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F C O N N E C T I V I T Y P O I N T D E S I G N & I N S T A L L A T I O N P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F C O N N E C T I V I T Y P O I N T D E S I G N & I N S T A L L A T I O N Doug Watt celebrates with employees at Connectivity Point's annual company party, in 2014. Above right: Mike Dunnigan, Dan Hodgkin, Mell Hamlyn, and Doug Watt (from left to right) celebrate 20 years together at this year's annual company party. Mike and Dan were two of the original technicians when Doug started Connectivity Point and Mell started soon after. She is the Director of Finance and Human Resources.

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