It's certainly no secret that there have been plenty of opportunities in the healthcare IT space over the last few years. But Franklin, Tenn.-based Vision Consulting, which just launched at the beginning of 2010, certainly hit the ground running. At the end of its inaugural year, the firm was already at 100 consultants and $16 million in revenue. An impressive debut, for sure.
But what it did in just its second year—125 percent revenue growth—was even more stunning. That same year, the firm grew its billable consultant number to 185, and aims to add another 90 consultants this year. It's all part of the firm's plan to end its third year in business at $50 million in revenue, says Kenny Hilpp, Vice President and Partner of Vision Consulting.
"Vision has been very fortunate with its strong growth since inception," Hilpp says. "Vision has been growing by investing in our people. We were able to bring on a very strong core group of consultants that had experience working with Vision's ownership in the past."
That past, for both Hilpp and Vision president Tim Unger, was with UCR Solutions, an HIT consulting and solutions company Unger founded. Prior to its acquisition by First Consulting Group, UCR was ranked as Nashville's fastest growing company and served nearly 1,000 hospitals.
The rest of Vision's speedy ramp up, Hilpp says, came via referral from that first core group of hires. Staffing will continue to be a focus, Hilpp says, with the firm adding industry experts and subject matter expertise.
And, he says, once new talent is identified, they become even more interested when they see the firm's value proposition. Culture, he says, is paramount to Vision, and the firm has several internal groups in place to gather feedback from associates. "We sought to create a culture that provides associates a forum to provide ideas on how to improve implementations in the healthcare IT market, he says."
Which brings us to the other part of the Vision equation—the clients. Vision's clients, Hilpp says, are facing several challenges, including how to implement advanced clinical applications with limited resources at the hospital level and implement those changes in a budget that makes sense.
Not surprisingly, Vision spends a lot of time helping clients meet and achieve the most return tied to Meaningful Use incentive dollars as part of the Affordable Care Act.
"The mission was always to provide unique solutions that meet client needs," he says. "We have focused on investing in our clients, associates and community. We are only as good as our last project, and we are committed to growing a firm that truly makes a difference in the daily lives of our clients, associates and the communities where we work."
—J.K.
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