Company moves from basement to big-time

by Aruna Jain * Staff Writer

Shawn Richmond is the CEO of Calsha Computer Technologies, a computer training company that has become the first to graduate from Lanham's Technology Assistance Center Incubator. Calsha will be moving into a larger facility in Largo this summer.

After initially facing tough times in a competitive market, Calsha Computer Technologies of Lanham finally scored big in February.

Under its agreement with Prince George's County government, Calsha will provide technology and business education to the county's 7,000 employees. But the $1.3 million it received means it will now be able to move into bigger commercial space.

Calsha also becomes the first graduate of the county Economic Development Corp.'s Technology Assistance Center incubator.

"They have outgrown the space that they're in now and they have enough business activity to move out and be able to afford regular [commercial office] space," EDC President Joseph J. James said. "That's exactly how we wanted it to happen."

EDC created the incubator in November 2001 to provide technological support, management and administrative assistance to Calsha and 18 other fledgling companies.

Calsha started at a time when many technology companies were going under. CEO Shawn Richmond said she and her husband launched the company three years ago in the converted basement of their Mitchellville home.

"For the first two years we barely hung on," she said. "But we thought if we could stick through the tough seasons, eventually things would get better."

Richmond attributes her company's success to diligence and a few good decisions -- one of them moving the company to the TAC incubator after it made $50,000 its first year.

"We knew that we needed to grow, but we weren't sure how," she said. "[The incubator] gave us incredible support and lots of guidance. It helped us get some focus. It was the perfect decision."

The company improved from a combined $350,000 in earnings its first three years to $1.5 million in sales for the first quarter of 2003.

Calsha contracts with nine consultants who teach technology, business skills and project management. Richmond hopes to hire full-time staff by early next year.

The company's major clients include the county government, a law firm and three nonprofits.

Calsha was one of 32 companies that originally showed interest in getting the county contract, and it beat out incumbent OAO Technologies of Greenbelt.

When Calsha was picked, Richmond was ecstatic.

"I [had] worked on the proposal itself for 13 months full-time," she said. "We had the written proposal with several hundred pages bound in three-ring binders. Then there was a series of classroom presentations, an interview, an on-site evaluation where they sat through some of our courses. It was a pretty intense process."

Calsha has made strides in other areas, offering 260 online courses, Richmond said. Still, she added, "It's unbelievably fierce. There are many training companies. And with the decline in the technology market, there are not as many people to train."

Despite the competition, James said, Calsha thrived in the incubator.

"We were very impressed with the energy and commitment and professionalism of the couple," James said. "They moved in, occupied one office and, shortly thereafter, put in a small training lab. So they've steadily made progress with us."

James said Richmond is an energetic CEO.

"I've never seen her without a smile on her face," James said. "She's always upbeat. She's a real salesperson."

Wanda Plummer, special projects manager for the EDC, agrees.

"I see a totally committed, aggressive visionary management. I see a management that is committed to quality in everything," she said.

Richmond said she is still aggressively seeking new contracts, including possible contracts with towns and municipalities.

"We're not relying solely on the county contract," she said. "It's our anchor contract right now, but we're hoping to have some more good growth soon." * *