Fresh off being announced as recipients of the 2021 Greater Washington GovCon Contractor of the Year (Up to $25 Million), Kreative Technologies’ co-founders and owners, Adnan Karimi and Nazia Karimi, shared some of their lessons learned after growing the company together from the ground up.
Adnan Karimi graduated in 2005 with a BS in Decision Science & Management Information Systems from the George Mason University School of Business. After hearing her husband praise his educational experience, Nazia was persuaded to attend as well, graduating in 2011 with a BS in accounting. Her graduation signified a full career transition from nursing. “I thought maybe I want to try something different, and after one class I knew that I liked it and was good at it,” she says. Nazia’s accounting degree was put to immediate use when she became CFO of Kreative Technologies, which she co-founded with Adnan, who became president and CEO.
“It all started when I was supporting one project for military veterans to receive benefits and care from the VA, and then it really evolved from there as I decided to break away and form Kreative Technologies,” says Adnan. And like that, the company was born, with the mission of serving military service members and veterans. The Karimis were now their own bosses, with all new responsibilities - chief among them creating an office culture and securing their own contracts. They knew that they had their work cut out for them; convincing both potential employees and clients that they should sign on and that the startup would be going places is no easy task.
To operate and manage a small contracting business, the Karimis have to make sure there are always enough contracts and work lined up. “Part of our growth process is naturally to bring in more people, which becomes a challenge to not only sustain that growth but support it and find other revenue streams,” says Adnan. Talent recruitment was immensely important especially for the first 15 or 20 team members that the Karimis hired, as they focused on acquiring the proper talent and personalities which would shape the company. After that, newer employees had an office culture and framework to buy into. “When someone’s livelihood depends on a startup company, they need to trust the mission and culture and believe in what they’re doing,” says Nazia
As successful, and now, award-winning owners of a small business in the government contracting sector, the Karimis have walked the walk and are eager to pass wisdom on to students. “Students should have a technical skill they can hang their hat on. You never know what that specialty can morph into,” says Adnan. Nazia adds, “There are so many potential paths within business, and even within accounting. I would tell students to find their passion and follow the path through the School of Business, which really worked wonders for my career.” Ian Persaud, a project manager on the team, advises business students to learn how to speak a language in the business field. “Learn the language of the people you’re going to be working with so that once you’re hearing these keywords, you can really understand what’s going on and then communicate it to others,” he says.
Everyone at Kreative Technologies has grown accustomed to supporting various roles while working on many different projects. They work hard because they believe in the mission of serving veterans and because they believe in each other. Adnan and Nazia Karimi, along with several members of the firm, took a gamble and bet on themselves in starting a new health IT-based company. The Contractor of the Year award is something special they cherish as a couple and is a testament to the tremendous team who have supported them.