Million-dollar babies

Home Office Computing, Feb, 1998 by Lisa Goff

As a result, Fortune 500 companies seek out the software troubleshooter, whose previous venture, a recording studio, ended in bankruptcy. "I was a failing rock musician who found a way to let the creative juices flow fixing software," he explains. Clients include AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, and the U.S. Postal Service, for whom Schuster devised a software solution for misaddressed mail. Millennium issues are a company specialty.

The company sprinted past first-year revenue projections Of $750,000 in the first few months of operation. To keep tip with his rapidly expanding company, Schuster had to hustle for additional financing--no easy feat with a bankruptcy on his record. Avoiding venture capitalists, he found an eager buyer instead: Phoenix International Industries, a Florida-based holding company that specializes in technology and telecommunications acquisitions. Phoenix bought ITC in June 1997, retaining Schuster as president and CEO. This year the plan is to increase the staff to 160. Projected revenues for 1998? More than $31 million.

Branded Builder Tony Caciolo, President Company: Monogram Custom Homes, builders Location: Emmaus, Pa Employees: 3 Launched: 1994 Start-Up Capital: $100,000 First-Year Revenues: $3 million 1997 Revenues: $4 million

Tony Caciolo's home-based business took off faster than you can say "custom kitchen." "We thought we'd build 10 homes the first year; we built 25," he says. Caciolo separated his company from his competitors by making add-ons standard. The granite countertops and Jacuzzi whirlpools that most other builders charge extra for are part of the basic package at Monogram, which Caciolo still runs out of his home. "My competition is charging the same $95-a-square-foot that I'm charging--but he's not using Pella windows," Caciolo says.

To afford the more elegant extras, Caciolo goes to the source for supplies whenever he can. He buys top-quality granite from an importer, for example, and instead of calling a local distributor for an appliance, he goes straight to the manufacturer. And by hiring his own staff kitchen designer, who doubles as Monogram's office manager, Caciolo has been able to whittle down the cost of custom kitchen designs. All of that saves between 30 and 50 percent on kitchen construction.

A former marketing manager for Bell & Howell, Caciolo says he relished the speedy growth. "We did whatever we had to do to get the business. I built some homes for cost. The goal was to establish Monogram as a major name in the business in the very first year." Revenues hit $3 million, and Monogram's reputation soared too.

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