Hispanic Business
Hildy Medina
1/25/2008 - 2007 Latina Entrepreneur Of The Year
Two thousand seven was a banner year for Pinnacle Technical Resources.
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=88637
Top Talent Equals Success
Two thousand seven has been a banner year for Pinnacle Technical Resources. The company was among the top 10 fastest-growing staffing firms in the nation and won a $100 million contract — it's biggest ever.
Still, Nina Vaca, Pinnacle's founder and CEO, admits to some trepidation over committing to such a hefty contract award.
"I sat across the table and thought: I've waited 10 years to sign a contract like this, but in order to deliver I have to dig into equity, so I've bet the farm this year, and it's really scary," Ms. Vaca said during a panel discussion at Hispanic Business magazine's 2007 EOY Roundtable in November. "So it remains to be seen. You have to be a risk taker."
A native of Ecuador, Ms. Vaca comes from three generations of entrepreneurs. Ms. Vaca started Pinnacle, an information technology and administrative staffing firm, in 1996 out of her living room.
A little more than a decade later, Pinnacle is estimated to reach $140 million in sales in 2007. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company has 2,000 consultants across more than 40 states.
Pinnacle has since introduced its own Web-based software tool called Progata. The application streamlines in-house operations and communications among IT managers, sourcing managers, and third-party staffing providers. Pinnacle's roster of Fortune 500 clients include AT&T, Pepsi Co., and Verizon.
The company extols its human capital as the company's foundation. Among Pinnacle's key priorities is finding top talent: one of the company's biggest challenges.
"Whether you're a $1 million company or a $200 million company, the message is the same," Ms. Vaca says. "To build a company of scale, you must surround yourself by some pretty amazing people, and they'll do some amazing things. My biggest challenge today, even growing 90 times our size, is still the same challenge I had when we were small -- finding the best people. The best people get the right people on the bus."