After a 30-year career providing guidance in process and Asset Performance Management Improvement, and a little more than a decade in consulting, Larry Olson ad an ambition to open his own consulting firm. He did just that in 2010 when he launched Nexus Global Business Solutions out of his house.
From humble beginnings, the Strategy, Operations and IT firm with a focus in the oil and gas industry, grew into one, then multiple, offices. Olson's relationships in the sector fueled much of the firm's early growth, he says, internally and externally.
Initially, he did most of the initial hiring but as the firm became more established, he brought on a Human Resource manager to handle the recruiting and hiring. On the client side, the growth came from relationships Olson had with some key players in the space, including Royal Dutch Shell, Maersk and Hess, to name a few.
As a result, the firm's been growing at a 100 percent clip the last five years—amazing at any size. "The expansion that's come over the last few years was not predictable, at least in my mind," says Olson, Chairman, President and CEO of Nexus Global Business Solutions. "A big chunk came in 2013 where we secured some longer three to five year contracts based on some shorter engagements."
In 2014, Olson says the growth was the result of the expansion of some current projects and the continuation of new client acquisition, as well as the expansion into the Europe and Middle East markets. And, not to be outdone, Olson projects a shade over 100 percent growth for Nexus in 2015.
"In the fourth quarter of 2014, we were awarded a multi-year, multi-million contract in the Middle East to provide 30 to 50 consultants over the next five to eight years," he says. As far as the future, Olson says the firm will continue its impressive growth, but see the 100 percent growth slowing to somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of organic growth a year. There could also be a few strategic acquisitions this year and next, as well as a few new geographies—Asia and Australia—coming on line, he says.
Add it all up and Olson says Nexus Global has a 2020 vision of being $60 million in revenue. Olson points to a few key factors for the firm's success. "I believe our values, how we treat people and how we treat clients is a little infectious within the organization," he says. "Initially, as clients could see the value we offered, the business grew. But that's not sustainable if you don't continue to deliver."
Olson says Nexus' model of engagement is different than many consulting firms because it's fixated on the value that clients get. "We have with a higher return on investment on what we call a risk-for-reward share model. We put some of our fee at risk if we don't get the return on investment," Olson says.
As a result, Nexus has nearly a 100 percent retention rate among clients, he says. Another differentiator is something Olson calls "the gray hair factor," allowing the firm to provide a higher caliber of talent at a more affordable rate. "Most of our people, I would say 80 percent, are senior-level people who either came from industry or worked at another consulting firm," Olson says. "We bring the competency, we bring the solution, and we bring a structured, disciplined approach for a sustainable result."
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