Verissimo Technologies - Lakeland, FL

William J. Puopolo exemplifies the “Army of One” slogan. On April 2, 2005, he went head-to-head with the enemy, repelling an assault of over 80 insurgents against the Abu Ghraib Detention Facility. After 12 years of serving with those he considers the best and brightest America has to offer, Capt. Puopolo knew what it meant to lead by example.

Nearly two years after the battle, Puopolo discovered an opportunity that would allow him to achieve his dream of running his own business. As a former field artillery officer, Puopolo had developed invaluable leadership skills. Coupling his leadership skills with a master’s degree in business administration, Puopolo took advantage of Executive Order 13360 and founded Verissimo Technologies.

“Soon after my return from Iraq, I learned of Executive Order 13360 supporting service-disabled, veteran-owned businesses by allowing three percent of government contracts to be set aside for them,” Puopolo said. “This inspired me to live out my dream of being a business owner and continuing to use and develop my leadership skills.”

Drawing its name from the Latin phrase “in the most true way,” Verissimo Technologies specializes in providing clients with new, used and refurbished telecom equipment, voice and data cabling and electrical cabling. The company also provides solutions for alternate power, multimedia and audio-visual services, security/access control and enterprise LAN/WAN as well as design and engineering services.

“From my days on the football field and from my military training, I have always been taught to keep things simple,” said Puopolo, AGE. “My company’s core values are simple: integrity and proficiency. You can be very honest and have no skills, you can be very skillful and have no integrity. Without both, you cannot succeed in business.”

Puopolo is starting small but thinking big, planning to grow in size and using his VOB status in sales pitches to gain more federal business. Though still a new company, Verissimo Technologies is already incorporating other veteran-owned businesses into its supply chain and is establishing relationships with companies for subcontracting, sole-source and mentor-protégé partnership agreements.

“I felt this was a great opportunity to serve other veterans and fellow comrades in arms by starting a company which would hire fellow veterans and market to the DOD and other federal agencies as a provider of communication and technology solutions,” Puopolo said.

“Though we have a well-trained, knowledgeable team, even with a VOB status things have not happened overnight,” Puopolo said. “We work very hard to get our foot in the door with many large companies and to build customer relationships. Patience is definitely a virtue.

“I feel the opportunities for VOBs will continue to grow and this will allow us to expand our capabilities.”

Written by Michael Crawford

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