Technology is advancing at the speed of thought, which encapsulates these concepts: the need to nimbly exploit the finest that information technology has to offer to satisfy the business objectives of consumers. TekSynap knows the current pace of technology as well as the need to have a complete, well-planned information management environment.
The founders of TekSynap have been working together for over a decade, helping customers range from modest departmental operations and maintenance activities to spearheading large-scale country-wide deployment projects for organizations such as the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. This core management team has worked for industry leaders such as SIGNAL Corporation and oversaw business sectors with over $100 million in yearly revenue at General Dynamics.
TekSynap is a product-agnostic technology partner for its customers. The corporation recognizes that a “one size fits all” strategy is insufficient to suit the demands of its federal partners. Its M3 Methodology (Mission, Maturity, and Metrics) is a repeatable methodology that provides its customers with an efficient path to the cloud. Cloud provider selection and deployment strategy are influenced by factors such as cost, security, and flexibility. Encapsulation, refactoring, hybrid cloud, or on-premise are all suited to the individual demands of each customer.
The TekSynap Vision
David Gauldfeldt, President of TekSynap and one of the three founders/owners, has 30 years of expertise in the government contracting industry. He has held high management roles with one of the major systems integrators serving the federal government. He has spearheaded the establishment of an engineering competence at TekSynap that is supported by a world-class back-office environment that attracts and maintains the best engineering personnel. The trick is to be able to execute at an enterprise size for a government agency without the bureaucracy that usually stymies development in larger enterprises. As captured in the company’s credo “Technology Moving at the Speed of Thought“, TekSynap brings a forward leaning approach, acting as an agent of change, enhancing its customer’s ability to meet mission objectives.
Mr. Gauldfeldt states, “Our approach includes long-term partnering with our customers, taking a comprehensive view of their entire enterprise.”
Mr. Gauldfeldt formerly worked as a Vice President of Civilian Solutions at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT). He was responsible for providing leadership across a 2,400-person business sector with approximately $500M in annual sales, as well as supporting the company’s strategic objectives such as business capture, market analytics, and program remediation. Program reporting, strategic account management, vendor interactions, partner relations, and human capital management are examples of corporate support services. Contract acquisition, transfer, and implementation of suggested models of operations inside strategic accounts have been a main emphasis. Mr. Gauldfeldt has worked on a number of big, complicated consolidations and integrations in the federal sector, including M&A transactions like SIGNAL Corporation, Veridian, FCBS, Anteon, and Vangent. Mr. Gauldfeldt has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and has completed the Executive Institute at Stanford University’s Department of Management Science and Engineering.
Evolution from Small Business to Sector Leader
Mr. Gauldfeldt has worked in small businesses, at major system integrators, and now in a leadership capacity, creating TekSynap as a mid-tier firm. When Mr. Gauldfeldt left his prior LSI position, TekSynap was a growing small firm with annual revenues of over $4 million. TekSynap has grown to over 30 times that income and has approximately 800 colleagues building and running complex IT systems all over the world, thanks to a fantastic team of professionals. Mr. Gauldfeldt asserts, “The corporate growth is only part of the story. Our transition to being a prime contractor, with agency-wide responsibilities, is a testament to the trust that our customers have come to have in us as a company that delivers on its promises.” He further adds,
“The world of information technology is ever changing – our ability to transform ourselves to be the right partner, with the right skillset is where TekSynap has been able to outperform our competition.”
Mr. Gauldfeldt believes that TekSynap is technically nimble, keeping the agility of its small business heritage, but enterprise strong with the proper procedures and business models to undertake agency wide mission supporting work.
The Importance of Having a Supporting Partner
Mr. Gauldfeldt considers his life’s turning point to be when he married his wonderful wife. He mentions, “Having a lifelong partner that supported my dreams has been critically important, providing me the ability to take risks that have enabled my success.” He shares,
“She helped me bridge the gap between work life and family life so that I could put in the hours and effort necessary to grow professionally while being able to stay engaged with the family.”
The transition from a stable position at a very large company to a fledgling start-up is full of risk. Mr. Gauldfeldt underlines that starting a business is a family commitment because it does not take vacations or weekends. He recognizes that difficulties requiring rapid attention might develop at any time, and having a supportive spouse is vital.
Mr. Gauldfeldt has had numerous unforgettable experiences and met incredible personalities such as Neil Armstrong, Steven Tyler, and Elon Musk. He says, “It may sound a bit ordinary, but fundamentally, the most impactful thing was establishing the bond with my spouse. No matter what you do, having the support and confidence of a partner, family, and friends is a fundamental necessity for taking chances. A support system is crucial. There will always be moments of self-doubt and there will be rough patches in any endeavor.”
Inspiration and Values that Translate into Business Operations
“The person that inspires me the most in my business decisions, was not a business person,” says Mr. Gauldfeldt. He further adds, “It is my father, Frank Gauldfeldt, who dedicated his life to world health (the State Department initially, then later with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)).”
As per Mr. Gauldfeldt, his father instilled a value system that he will break down into three areas:
(1) Contributing to the greater good – leave this world a better place than you found it.
(2) Doing the “right thing” – in each decision you make, are you doing what is right?
(3) Be joyful – Even after experiencing the strife of a war-torn Europe during WW2 as a child, he maintained a positive outlook on life and a desire to be joyful.
These values can be seen and translated into Mr. Gauldfeldt’s business life. He says, “Take a worldview perspective on work. We try to look past our specific contracts to our customers’ mission—helping our customers achieve mission objectives leaves the world a better place.” He further adds, “Helping veterans, combating weapons of mass destruction, and regulating clean, safe nuclear energy are important objectives. We are not here to provide IT – we are here to enable missions.”
At TekSynap, the team strives to “always do the right thing” for its customers and employees. It is part of the company’s culture. “Sometimes it would be easy to rationalize short cuts, to prioritize short term objectives over doing what is right,” says Mr. Gauldfeldt. “We work hard to stay true to who we are and always make the best decisions we can for our customers and employees, trusting that in the long term, doing what is right, enables long term business success.”
Mr. Gauldfeldt believes that it is difficult to provide your best effort if you do not enjoy what you are doing. He advises aspiring leaders to focus on being upbeat and optimistic, as this benefits the company. When things don’t go as planned, the company’s management avoids assigning blame and recriminations. Instead, the leadership team concentrates on what they want to accomplish and ensures that everyone is on board with their contributions to the goal. Mr. Gauldfeldt asserts, “A positive workforce can overcome challenges and achieve great things.”
Establish your own Path
Mr. Gauldfeldt advice to young leaders and entrepreneurs is to take time to understand their approach to the market and to be an expert in what they do. He believes that there are many paths to business success in today’s market, and one will not be all things to all people. He suggests, “Find your niche, your value proposition, and be the very best as you need to be able to adjust, while not reacting to every “squirrel” moment.” He further says, “Someone may develop the next “killer app” that goes viral – applaud their success, but if you are not an app developer, don’t chase after someone else’s success.”
Commitment to Constant Improvement
Mr. Gauldfeldt believes that TekSynap, as a mid-tier service provider, is well positioned to be a key participant in the federal contracting sector. The team is establishing itself as a formidable force across a wide variety of services and technologies. TekSynap has been shown to have the perfect recipe for providing mission-critical services to its clients at the correct pricing range. Throughout the company’s management, there is a personal dedication to getting the job done. “In the process we have also built an employee centric culture that enables people to perform at their very best,” says Mr. Gauldfeldt.
Smart individuals want to work in circumstances where they are challenged, surrounded by other high performers, and acknowledged for both their individual achievement and the group’s overall accomplishment. As TekSynap expands, Mr. Gauldfeldt hopes to retain the company’s focused ethos while reaching out to clients in new areas.
