Three Decades of TriCom

As we stand on the doorstep of our 30th anniversary, I am filled with immense gratitude for this journey I’ve been a part of since May of 1994.

I remember Day #1 vividly - the previous majority owner, Matt Howland called to ask if I wanted to start working from home as a technical staffing organization to be called Tri-Com Technical Services? He said it would stand for triple computer technical services - contracting, permanent placement, and contract-for-hire services.

I remember saying either in my head or to him, “Well, that’s kind of a dumb name, but…okay!” I went home, put a side table against a wall at my studio apartment, and went to work (btw – did we start something with that model?).

Thirty years later – TriCom still lives, breathes, and thrives. We boomed during the boom times and dived during others, but through it all, we persevered. And we remained steadfast that building a great team is still the secret sauce to any great company. As the saying goes – “a great culture eats great strategy for breakfast.” Amen to that.

So, after a down cycle for our business in the last 16 months or so, the future is still very bright for TriCom and most other workforce companies. Green shoots are sprouting up as hiring demand comes back after the disruption caused by the whipsaw effect of over-hiring following COVID, to be followed by layoffs and hiring freezes for much of 2023.

We have many good fortunes but none more so than our thousands of clients who agreed to work with us and the thousands of IT professionals who entrusted us with their careers. We hope that we earn that trust from each of you one deal at a time. Thank you so much for your business, we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with each of you!

Lastly, thank you to my internal team. You all are the reason for TriCom’s record-setting success. I hope you know that, I should probably tell you all that more than I do. You all embody the mantra I stole from my idol growing up, Michigan football coach, Bo Schembechler, who said: “Nobody is more important than the team...the team, the team, the TEAM!” Amen to that, too! There is nothing that gives me more pride than seeing you all develop, work, collaborate, and succeed as a team.

It’s been said that most entrepreneurs only really experience two emotions during their time running a business; euphoria, and terror…and the lack of sleep enhances them both. I can vouge for that…and I wouldn’t trade it for anything! THANK YOU, Kansas City, Twin Cities, and many parts far and wide.

Cheers to 30 years! Onward and upward!