Geographically, Ken Novotny hasn’t moved far from his hometown of Pocasset, maintaining an office in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City.
However, his business, Consulting Services, Inc., or CSI, has skyrocketed it’s way to the 28th annual Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, placing 91st on the list of fastest-growing companies in America, 10th in information technology and 14th in government systems.
CSI is also the fastest-growing company in Oklahoma.
With companies like Microsoft, Go Daddy and Oracle making the list in the past, CSI has some pretty impressive company.
“If you want to know which companies are going to change the world, look at the Inc. 500,” said Inc. editor Jane Berenston. “These are the most dynamic, fast-growth companies in the nation.”
CSI offers IT services, system integration, business process re-engineering and software development for government operations. “We take care of computer systems, software support and program management as well as quality assurance, configure management baselines and we are there to back it out if something goes wrong,” Novotny said.
“In 2004, my target goal for the next five years was to hit $20 million,” Novotny said. “I fell short of that by $6 million, but I would like to be a $40 million company within the next three or four years.”
A contractor at Tinker Air Force Base for eight years, Novotny founded CSI in 2002.
“But then, 9-11 happened, so I took on another project at Tinker until 2004,” Novotny said. “So this started basically as a moonlighting job.”
The “moonlighting job” quickly grew into a wildly successful business, with $63,000 in revenue in 2002, jumping to $417,000 in 2003, $1.7 million from 2004 to 2006, $2.9 million in 2007 and a whopping $7.1 million in 2008.
Novotny expects to reach $13 million to $14 million in revenue this year.
“Next year’s rankings will be even higher,” Novotny said of the figures presented in Inc. Magazine’s August issue.
Thanks to several new long-term government contracts, including a $17.6 million contract with the Tinker AFB OKC-AIC IT Director, future revenues are expected to soar even higher.
Novotny employs a highly-skilled labor force of 190 people within an 11-state area and meets a $425,000 payroll every two weeks.
While his company is growing by leaps and bounds, it is still considered a small business.
“Big companies see only management, not employees and my peers are almost double my age,” Novotny said. “I let my employees know I’ve sat in their seat as a contractor for eight years, so I know how to take care of people. It’s not about the glory, I’d rather sit in my cubby hole. Glory is good and even great, but I’d rather spend time with my employees and ask them how their families are doing. It’s the way I was raised. There’s no politics, no stabs in the back. I’m always up front - that’s one reason we’ve been real successful.”
Novotny is a 1994 graduate of AmPo High School and a 1999 graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in management information systems.
“I was and I am a computer geek,” he says.
But before he was a geek, he was a water skier, competing since he was seven years old.
“From the time I was 12 until I was 18 I competed in nationals. I took second place in 1992, I set five-state regionals three times and I won the Sooner State Games every year since I was 12,” Novotny said.
After starting college at OSU, Novotny’s skiing became more of a hobby than a competition.
“It was fun and I got to use a boat and go out to the local watering holes,” he said. “I decided an education was what I needed, but I still enjoy going to the lake.”
Raised in Pocasset, Novotny is the son of Mark and Cindy Novotny who now live in Chickasha, where Mark has owned and operated Auto Tune since his son was “knee high to a grasshopper.”
In addition, Novotny’s grandmothers Margueritte Novotny and Virginia Rutledge also live in Chickasha.
Novotny and his wife Amber have a son, Mason, 4, and daughter Adley is due within the next couple of weeks.
For more information about CSI, visit www.csioklahoma.com.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Ken Novotny relaxes at the business that’s made him a millionaire.
September 2, 2009
‘I’ll be a $20-million man’
- Local News
-
-
BC basketball homecoming queen crowned
Breaden Jantzern was crowned 2012 Homecoming Queen during Bridge Creek's basketball homecoming coronation last week.
-
City to earn green for going green
The City of Tuttle will receive a check for $2,661.85 from Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) as an incentive for retrofitting several City facilities with high-efficiency lighting.
-
A Royal Evening
Mariah Hickman was crowned wrestling homecoming queen last week by king Sterling Hawkins.
-
Groundbreaking held for new city hall
On Tuesday evening, local current and former elected officials, city workers and others taking part in the construction of the city's planned $3 million new city hall and storm shelter met to ceremoniously break ground on the project.
-
Local residents affected by Tuesday power outage
Local residents with electric service from PSO were without power for over an hour on Tuesday afternoon. The outage affected much of downtown Tuttle, and many on the north side of Hwy. 37.
-
Students get close-up view of legislature
While you might not realize it, high school students often play an integral part at the state capitol.
-
Williams asks Council for tax break
Jeff Williams, owner of William’s Discount Grocery, addressed the Tuttle City Council on Monday about offering incentives to build a new store.
Williams discussed options like a one-cent sales tax over the life of the note which he said would cost the city “zero dollars.” -
Area towns REAP benefits
State Senator Ron Justice and Representative Leslie Osborn presented several ASCOG REAP grants during Monday’s county commissioners meeting.
Mayors and other representatives from the towns of Alex, Amber and Verden were on hand to accept the grants. - Helpful hints to prevent the “Silent Disease” CHICKASHA, Okla. –Osteoporosis is a disease where over time the bones become porous, thin and easily break. Bones that tend to break easily are those in your spine, hips and wrists.
- POLICE REPORTS
- More Local News Headlines
-
