Tarandeep Bawa: SBA Success Story

The Small Business Administration named ITegrity's very own President and CEO an SBA Success Story. The text of the SBA's announcement follows:

With advanced degrees in Information and Telecommunication Systems, combined with Six Sigma Black Belt certifications, knows something about what it takes to pursue excellence. More than passion and personal drive, it also takes being open to receiving guidance from those most qualified to offer their support. In 2009, Tarandeep founded ITegrity, a company dedicated to delivering IT services with the utmost integrity and value. At the time, he was the company’s lone employee. Nevertheless, Tarandeep had big dreams to take his small business to impressive heights. But where would he find the help he needed to grow?

Tarandeep heard about the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program, a nine-year training experience to help socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs learn how to compete for and win federal government contracts. Tarandeep applied for and was granted his 8(a) certification in March 2018. By then, he had a team of about nine employees. The following year he joined the first cohort of the “8(a) Accelerator Program,” a six-week pilot project with the Bowie (Maryland) Business Innovation Center to support business growth through advanced capture management strategies.

Tarandeep states that as a result of the assistance and expertise offered through the SBA, he has been able to navigate his way successfully through various challenges associated with running a small IT company. Issues involving his day-to-day business operations, teaming arrangements, marketing strategy and, of course, federal contracting have all been addressed with greater confidence thanks to SBA’s services and programs. “The SBA is extremely knowledgeable and responsive in answering those questions,” he says, “which has resulted in several prime contract wins.” His best advice: "Have a solid foundation and understanding of the business you are entering. Don't start a business expecting the SBA to teach you everything. If used appropriately, the SBA can be an invaluable tool to help entrepreneurs grow their business.” In fact, Tarandeep now employs some 80 workers, including subcontractors. What’s more, ITegrity has been included on the “Inc. 5000” list of America’s top companies for two years in a row now (2020 and 2021)!

The SBA's post can be found here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USSBA/bulletins/3084b05