FAST 50: ATI pursues digital transformation strategy and its tribal mission

ATI Government Solutions describes its mission as more than just being about growth and profits.

Instead, it’s about the impact of growth and profits on its tribal ownership.

Co-founders Firmadge Crutchfield and Scott Deutschman already had long careers at other government contractors such as Accenture, DigitalNet, Planet Technologies and DMI. They wanted to something together.

“I looked at it and said, Well, I’ve had a career, now let’s do something that also has a social mission,” said Crutchfield, who leads ATI as CEO.

Deutschman works as ATI's corporate growth officer. In 2017, the pair went looking for a way to combine their business acumen and philanthropic desires.

“We had been around tribal organizations most of our careers and they are very strong government contractors,” Crutchfield said.

Eventually, they met with the Susanville Indian Rancheria in California. That organization comprises of the Maidu, Paiute, Pit River and Washoe tribes.

“We met with them and formed ATI under their 8(a) umbrella, and we’ve never looked back,” Crutchfield said.

ATI is the first government IT contracting business the tribe has formed. The company claims ranking No. 1 on the 2024 Washington Technology Fast 50, with a compound annual growth rate of 194.8% between 2019 and 2023.

The company has three core focus areas: strategic consulting, software development and implementation, and IT infrastructure services. The overarching umbrella is helping agencies with digital transformation.

“A lot of people say they are doing digital transformation, but for us it starts with consulting,” Deutschman said. "We help our customers see opportunities to optimize how they do their work.”

Their consulting work typically begins with questions about what the organization does, how it does it and what can be better.

Addressing those questions generally falls into either software or infrastructure, Deutschman said.

ATI can either help customers modify existing software or create new software and automation. The company uses both the Pega platform and Salesforce to deliver solutions, Deutschman said.

But the company seeks to be vendor-agnostic.

“We meet our clients where they are and our goal is to align with their needs and deliver solutions that work,” Crutchfield said.

Some of their major customers include the departments of Labor, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture. Other significant clients include the Army, Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Aviation Administration.

While the company is just seven years old, the experience of its leadership team has been key to its growth.

“We came to the table with a lot of experience and relationships and people who know us and are comfortable working with us,” Crutchfield said.

Both executives are also big proponents of working with the Small Business Administration, which helped ATI win its first contract with Agriculture.

“Our relationship with SBA was a great advantage. At times we were talking to them weekly,” Crutchfield said.

SBA provided advice and guidance, which helped ATI find work that they were qualified to do.

Beyond working SBA, Crutchfield said a piece of advice he offers to emerging small businesses is to stay humble.

“You never know where your path is going to take you. You talk with one person, which leads to another person and then another company. Keep moving forward and the opportunities will come.”

ATI's status as an 8(a) company with tribal ownership means it can capture contracts in ways other 8(a)s cannot, such as sole-source awards.

The plan is for ATI to transition to full and open space by the time it graduates from the 8(a) program in 2029. Crutchfield and Deutschman also have plans to launch other contracting entities for the tribe.

The company already returns financial distributions to the tribe and supports economic development initiatives, the executives said.

“This the standard tribal model but we take it very seriously,” Crutchfield said. “Any failures at this juncture can translate into large failures for the tribe in the future.”