Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/479641
1 8 8 H a r t f o r d Carousel Industries Carousel Industries is one of the truly outstanding business success stories in Connecticut over the past two decades. B eginning in 1992 as an idea in the minds of two entrepreneurs, the com- pany today is a nationally respected technology integrator for voice, video and data with an enviable customer list that includes Bank of America, Travelers, Revlon and CBS. Carousel Industries has experienced average sales growth of 30 to 50 percent since it was founded, and is on track this year to generate $300 million in revenues. The company's story of dramatic growth clearly demonstrates that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Connecticut. Based in New England with 1,000 employees nation- wide, Carousel's sales headquarters in Windsor is home to 100 employees and the company recently annexed additional office space to accommodate another 60. During a time of prolonged economic stagnation and less-than-stellar job creation, the company added 200 employees last year and has 150 open job requisitions. Carousel has been honored numerous times as an Inc. 500 fast growth company and is a member of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing businesses in the last 20 years. As the company approaches its 20th anniversary, a look back offers proof that a change in circumstances can be a blessing in disguise. Jeff Gardner, Carousel's CEO, was working in public accounting in Connecticut in 1992. "I had the entrepreneurial bug and wanted to get out of my day job," said Gardner. The opportunity came unexpectedly when his brother-in-law Mike Vickers was laid off from his position with an engineer- ing firm. One of Vickers' customers kept calling him about a computer-cabling contract. He talked it over with Gardner, who said, "Why don't we go ahead and do the work?" They launched Carousel Industries, and with the prof- its from the job, the two decided to buy a sandwich shop in Rhode Island, naming it Carousel Marketplace. "We had a great first year. We did somewhere between $500,000 and $600,000 in sandwiches," Gardner said. Meanwhile, calls kept coming in for cabling jobs. "We had one phone line," he said. "We answered the phone: 'Carousel' and it would be 'I need two Italian grinders, two ham and a tuna,' or 'Hello Carousel, I need a quote for 2,500 feet of fiber optic cable.' " By this time, Gardner's cousin Eric had joined on as the first employee. The cabling business grew, and over the next few years, sales began to outpace the sandwich shop. The growth came from one client who liked the job they were doing so well that they kept giving them more business. Reynolds & Reynolds, a leading provider of automotive retailing solutions for car dealers and automakers, hired Carousel Industries to wire all of its Rhode Island dealer- ships, then all of New England and eventually the entire East Coast. By this time Carousel was getting frequent requests from customers for help with their phone sys- tems. In 1997, the company applied to become a Lucent Technologies (now Avaya) reseller to accommodate these requests and pave the way for continued growth. The next major pivot point in Carousel's history came in 2001, when Jim Marsh joined the company as a part- ner. "Jim had a lot of very large customers, and we were primarily doing car dealerships," said Gardner. Before Marsh came on board, the company's capabilities were narrow in scope, but Marsh quickly changed that. "Carousel was not authorized or certified in any real enterprise-type communication product, so that was part of the process, to build resources and get certified or authorized to sell to large global accounts," said Marsh. Today Carousel partners with more than 30 of the top technology companies in the world and offers customers a comprehensive menu of fully integrated solutions. Marsh established Carousel's sales headquarters in Connecticut, where the company already had a strong presence. He developed a training program similar to James R. Marsh III, Senior Vice President of Carousel Industries.