Fast 50: DIGITALSPEC's family affair kicks off legacy of growth

Sometimes, to form a strong company, you need to rely on the strong bonds of family. That’s what family-owned and operated DIGITALSPEC LLC is doing and has done since its inception in 2005.

The company was founded by the parents of current managing principal and CEO Charles Dadoo. When Dadoo’s father came to the United States after retiring from Xerox, he wanted to continue his career, so he and Dadoo’s mother started the company—originally focused on commercial consulting—and Dadoo helped them as a consultant.

The name DIGITALSPEC was selected because it was meant to reflect the digital era that the world is experiencing right now.

In 2009, Dadoo bought his mother’s 51 percent share of the company, became CEO, and the company moved solidly into the federal space.

DIGITALSEPC is ranked No. 44 on the 2016 Fast 50 list with a compound annual growth rate of 53.72 percent. The company has a number of customers including U.S. Customs and Border Control, the Transportation Administration, Office of Personnel Management and the Education and Defense Departments, among others.

In 2010, the company joined the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) business development program, meant to help small, disadvantaged businesses carve out a place in the market with specialized opportunities that allow the businesses to get used to federal contracting and develop relationships. DIGITALSPEC is set to graduate from the program in December 2019.

In 2013, DIGITALSPEC got its first major win as a prime with the Office of Personnel Management. “That was sort of our first big 8(a) contract as a prime, and I was able to bring him [Dadoo’s brother, Vishal] in from IBM to run the program. Vishal took the reins as DIGITALSPEC president.

Despite being a sole source contract, DIGITALSPEC still had to give presentations and make their case during the market research phase of the procurement, Dadoo said. “It was treated like a competitive award, and it was very exciting for us to respond to that market research,” he added.

The company has also made other efforts to improve its processes, including becoming ISO: 9001, 20000 and 27001 certified.

Moving forward, Dadoo said, the company is focused on developing solutions—either related to technology or processes—that help solve business problems for its customers. The company is also very focused on retaining its staff, and part of that is being able to keep employees happy by resolving conflicts, Dadoo said.

“There’s more than one smart individual,” Dadoo said, so he is focused on leveraging all employee’s intelligence and promoting teamwork to make a harmonious work environment.

Employee happiness is top of mind to Dadoo and his team especially right now because the company just won new prime contracts that will have DIGITALSPEC adding around 30 new employees, bringing the total number of employees at the company to just over 50 employees.