Inception
While Jelecos co-founders chairman Jeff Wilke and president Leon Thomas
claim that the origins of their business stem more from accident than
the conclusion of a direct aim, Jelecos’ success incorporates very
specific and identifiable values and is the product of well-designed intentions
Wilke concluded his career as an over-traveled sales executive with a
Fortune 500 auto glass company in the fall of 1999 to start his own company
with his wife Heidi. The motivation for this move stemmed from his desire
to spend more time with his family. Through a series of conversations
with friends and acquaintances, the Wilkes identified technology supplies
as an emerging and ever-growing niche in the market. After a night of
brainstorming Jeff, Heidi and their two daughters came up with the name
of their new company, Data Media Solutions.
Data Media Solutions opened its doors on March 1st, 1999 with a modest
inventory and a narrow focus. However, as clients inquired about the availability
of different items, the scope of the business broadened and Wilke realized
the need to go online. At the time, very few companies could afford to
develop their websites professionally. So Wilke consulted his network
of friends one more time to pull up the name of his now-business partner
Leon Thomas. This, Wilke says, is where the happy accident lies. “If
I had hired an established website designer, we would have never gotten
to Jelecos.”
At the time Thomas was twenty-three years old and pursuing a doctorate
in physical therapy at Creighton University. Having relied on some contract
programming as a means to supplement tuition expenses, Thomas had been
building websites and databases on an as needed basis.
As the Data Media Solutions website evolved from an informational source
to an E-commerce site, Thomas continued to do contract programming for
Data Media Solutions and began providing the same services to other organizations.
The development of each website also became a hosting opportunity. It
was at this juncture Thomas declared, “If were going to do this,
let’s do it right or
get out of it.”
Thomas had finished his doctorate and was practicing physical therapy
part time at St. Joseph’s hospital, seeing patients in addition
to negotiating the expansion of the clinic.
In this sense, Thomas always had a hand in the business
side of things at the hospital; however, he was beginning
to realize the greater potential of the opportunity at hand. “Once I had my license
as a physical therapist I recognized I’d always have that to fall
back on,” Thomas said. His greater satisfaction would lie
in what would become the Jelecos venture, a “once in a lifetime
opportunity to get involved in a rapidly changing tech industry” on
the brink of its beginnings. Together Wilke and Leon made
the investment decision to launch Jelecos in the year 2000.
Jelecos Development / History of Growth
In the early months, Jelecos focused solely on web design and development.
Jelecos would either let the company host the site themselves, or recommend
a third party hosting service. Quickly, Thomas and Wilke realized that
they could not rely on these outside services. Subsequently, they decided
to carefully construct and design a web-hosting solution incorporating
the best hardware and software available. Once assembled and configured,
Jelecos co-located their web-hosting solution in a certified hardened
data center.
Shortly after moving into the data center, Jeff and Leon were approached
by a company looking to exit the web hosting and development business
and were asked if they were interested in acquiring said business. After
a series of negotiations Jelecos had acquired their first competitor.
From this point Jelecos enjoyed steady growth. More acquisitions were
to come. In 2003 Thomas and Wilke negotiated to acquire their second company
InfoBridge and in 2004, Jelecos acquired both Exanium Global Internet
Services and Imaging Services Corporation’s Internet division. With
these acquisitions it was necessary for Jelecos to expand into a second
data center, procuring additional space.
In 2004, Jelecos expanded its services into the Business Intelligence
realm by becoming a MicroStrategy Premier Partner. Business Intelligence
(BI), once reserved for Fortune 500 companies, was becoming an affordable
solution for organizations experiencing rapid growth and a need for flexible
reporting devices. Through companies such as Jelecos, the barriers to
entry in the BI arena were eased. By incorporating BI into their existing
services, Jelecos’ ability to see to every phase of a project’s
lifecycle was heightened to a new standard. Jelecos is continually developing
specialized support functions and adding personnel.
In fact, Jelecos growth necessitated a search for a larger facility.
One problem—did we mention Jack? Jack is the Jelecos Team mascot.
He is a Golden Lab-Retriever mix and comes to work every
day. In
our search for a new location, we were continually told “no pets” and
again, another “accident” ensued. In exasperation, Wilke asked
his buddies during a routine winter poker game if anyone
had any Class-A space for lease and would accept pets.
Once Wilke explained who Jack was, one of the guys said,
matter of fact I have about 4500 square feet at 210 regency
parkway and I don’t
have a problem with Jack. Take a look see if you like it
and give me a call. The next day Wilke, Thomas and Jack
took a look and liked it. Over the next several months,
the facility was gutted and completely reconstructed to
Jelecos’ specifications.
Today we are proud to call 210 Regency Parkway headquarters
of Jelecos and we’re told we are the only tenants in Omaha that
has a mascot clause in their lease. If you’re in the neighborhood,
stop by and say hi to Jack, you're always welcome.
Jelecos Ethos
Jelecos, whose name was arrived at by combining the first two letters
of Wilke and Thomas’ first names and abbreviating the word “company,” is
meant to convey their partnership: Jeff and Leon’s companies. And
while admittedly otherwise nonsensical, Jeff says that he likes to think
that if you look “Jelecos” up in the dictionary, its definition
would read “quality”. This is where the “accident” that
spawned Jelecos converges with the mores of Wilke and Thomas’ personal
business ethos.
The Thomases and the Wilkes are involved in many charitable ventures.
Together, they serve on the board of over a dozen non-profit organizations
including Project Harmony, the Special Olympics of Nebraska, YWCA, the
American Red Cross, the Methodist Hospital Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation of Nebraska and the Durham Western Heritage Museum, to name
a few. Not only do the Thomases and the Wilkes give their time, they also
give generously via monetary contributions and pro bono web development
to numerous organizations throughout the community and nationwide.
As for the office environment, Wilke and Thomas are clear as to the priorities
Jelecos assigns its employees. “Every associate we hire understands
that we lead by the following key principles: faith first, your self second,
your family third, and then, take care of us.” It is in this vein
that one begins to understand that Thomas and Wilke regard the health
of their business as a reflection of the health of their staff, who as
Wilke says, “needs no permission slips” to conduct their
activities, should their family responsibilities or health needs run into
the business day. Thomas and Wilke personify the American Family Leave
Act: their philosophy is, “If your family needs you, leave.”
This litmus test proves true for Jelecos in a macrocosmic sense as well. “As
we implement our aggressive growth strategies, we do so with an attitude
of what is good for us is good for Omaha’s growth and vice versa,” Thomas
said. “For instance, our recent acquisitions have kept good
businesses in Omaha. Jelecos invests in Omaha because we think it is an
affordable environment in which to run quality businesses and a great
place to live. Ultimately, Omaha is attracting other energetic entrepreneurial
business men and women to the city, that’s a good thing for all
of us.”
“This “accidental” company not only survived, but thrived.
In six years we’ve seen two wars, the dotcom crash and the worst
economic recession of my adult life,” Wilke says. “We came
out of it with a vibrant business employing dozens of associates--all
because of a tremendous commitment to service.” |
|
|
