What shifted? Mostly the distribution strategy. At first Ergodyne marketed to insurance companies, hoping they'd recommend the product line to their customers. Far better has been the decision to sell directly to companies with employees at risk. It's not too hard a sell, either, when $56 billion is spent in this country on back injuries alone.
What does Dad think, watching his son breathe new life into his company? "He thinks it's real cool," says the younger Votel.
279. Lai, Venuti & Lai Santa Clara, Calif.
When Calbert Lai started his advertising agency, he had one unbendable rule: never hire anyone from the ad business. "Too many ad people are too arrogant to stick to a budget or a schedule," Lai says. "I look for people who know what it's like to have the shoe on the other foot."
Noted for fast turnarounds, Lai, Venuti & Lai turns out creative work in a week, whereas most agencies take three. And it's apparently not at the expense of creativity. Cal Lai guesses he turns away one client a week. Servicing Silicon Valley's high-tech stars, Lai specializes in making bits and bytes sizzle for the consumer.
And while most agencies on Madison Avenue claim that creativity can't be quantified, Lai insists it can. "We agree on measures from the start, and if we don't make them, I tell the client to fire me," he says. So far no one has.
336. Geerlings & Wade Canton, Mass.
Phillip Wade and Huib Geerlings were roommates and office mates, and each was frustrated with the life of a certified public accountant. They were delivered from their angst in 1986, when they decided to start a business long popular in Europe but rare in the United States -- selling premium wine via mail.
To 24,000 subscribers, Geerlings & Wade offers prices averaging 25% less than those of local liquor stores. Every three weeks customers receive a four-page brochure detailing the choice wine and giving tasting notes and tips on what to eat with that wine, along with a brief history of the vineyard. "We see education as part of our business," Wade says, adding that wine aficionados often hunger for more background than a neighborhood retailer can offer. As for the future, Geerlings insists he's with this company for the long haul, but just a few doors away, Wade outlines a thoughtful exit strategy, adding that he and his partner plan to be out of the business in two years. Who knows?
347. Touchstone Research Laboratory
Triadelphia, W. Va.
As stories go, Elizabeth Kraftician and Brian Joseph have a doozy. Armed only with a dusty secondhand microscope, the two launched their research-and-development company in the basement of a former monastery in 1980. Six years later the two decided to take their partnership one step further -- to the altar. And three years later, while recuperating from surgery, Kraftician crafted a high-stakes NASA contract with her husband from her hospital bed.
While American industry divests itself of costly R&D departments, Kraftician and Joseph offer cost-efficient, fast-turnaround R&D for hire. Touchstone services everyone from lone inventors to Fortune 500 companies, and its employee roster reads like a Who's Who in engineering and industrial problem solving -- many employees have decades of previous experience. Kraftician admits she tries "to tease" great minds out of retirement. Says this CEO: "I'm confident these people could rebuild the universe if they needed to."
377. Genesis Automation Shelton, Conn.
Next time you order a soft drink to go at your local Roy Rogers, don't be surprised if Genny fills your cup. Not your average blond, bopping teenager, Genny is a robot. And her creators, Richard Casler and Sal Brogna, are betting she'll be a boon to the fast-food business.
Tired of watching their margins shrink thanks to increased competition and high turnover, fast-food czars -- like Burger King and McDonald's -- are looking to Genny to speed service, pump more customers through, and make good on their promise of "fast." Typically, Genny shaves a third off the average order time. Speedier lines mean fewer hungry patrons taking their business elsewhere because of the wait, as well as the chance to serve 10 to 15 more customers a day.
As space-age as all this sounds, the cofounders agree their greatest challenge is extremely earthbound. Building the robots is easy, they say. What's hard is uncovering what the customers' needs really are.
411. Gulf Coast Hair Care Panama City, Fla.
Four months ago Mary Easom found herself short on money to pay her home mortgage. Three days later her boss, David Flaat, lent her the money. Two months ago Dorothy Haw's car-repair bill caught her off guard. Five days later her boss, Dave Flaat, paid the bill. While Flaat insists he's in the hair business, not the banking business, he says it's his job to be there for his employees.
And the numbers prove he's right. The owner of 11 Cost Cutter franchises, Flaat typically reports weekly sales of $8,000 for each, compared with the average Cost Cutter franchise's $3,500. Catering to a walk-in $7.95 snip-'n'-go clientele, his salons sell almost twice the high-margin shampoos and conditioners that most of his fellow franchisees' do. From tying salary to salon performance to biweekly drawings for prizes like VCRs and movie passes -- to extending personal loans -- Flaat is always searching for new ways to keep employees happy and on their toes.
461. Humanix Temporary Services Spokane, Wash.
Talk about a twist of fate. For 20 years Julie Prafke was a secretary to some of the biggest executives in town; today some of those same execs are turning to her for a job. Her company, Humanix, is a temporary-placement agency, and, about the turn of events, Prafke calls it the ultimate compliment: "It says volumes about our reputation."
Prafke's foray into temp services appeared doomed when the company she worked for went belly-up after seven months. But an investor eager to recoup the $100,000 he'd pumped into the failed agency offered Prafke the client list and enough backing to start her own company in 1986. Within a year the investor had made back his money, and in two and a half years Prafke bought him out.
As for those early days, she calls them her training ground. "Who knows better than a secretary what it takes to make an employee happy?" Testifying to that, Prafke's turnover rate is about 30% lower than the industry norm.
494. Reunion Time Tinton Falls, N.J.
Some would say David Fiore goes to absurd lengths to ensure his class reunions are well attended, whether it means scouting out a monk secluded in the hills of Italy or passing the invitation on to a U.S. marine while he's dropping bombs on Libya. But then that's Reunion Time's business.
Organizing class galas used to fall on the shoulders of homemakers, but as more women enter the work force, fewer have the time and energy. Recognizing this need, Fiore quit his job at Prudential Insurance in 1986 and started crashing reunions and asking questions. Now the largest player in the business, Reunion Time promises customers 90% attendance, whereas the average class committee gets 65%. Orchestrating everything from invitations to entertainment to catering, Fiore pulls an event off for the same price a class committee doing its own affair would pay. How? Sheer volume. This Thanksgiving, while Fiore sits down to a turkey dinner, his company will be throwing 50 reunions in five states.
