Smart Business Magazine, February 2016

20 Smart Business Columbus February 2016 After Andy Joseph got out of the U S Navy he started a fabricating business to make extra money while working on his college degree One of his customers was interested in botanical oil extraction equipment I didnt have any idea of what it was at the time but I said Sure I can make that Joseph says So I started making those and did that basically on the side while I worked a real corporation job Little did he know Apeks Supercritical would become Ohios fastest growing private company according to the 2015 Inc 5000 list Its also the 24th fastest growing company in America thanks to a three year growth rate of 8249 percent In 2012 Apeks annual revenue was around 750000 in 2015 revenue reached about 13 million Ninety five percent of Apeks business is with the cannabis industry And as an ancillary equipment manufacturer Joseph who serves as the companys president compares the business to a pickaxe manufacturer during the gold rush Andy Joseph steers Apeks Supercritical through skyrocketing growth Lessons on the fly In fact the gray legality of the cannabis industry has become less of a challenge than keeping up with the skyrocketing growth Plan for the future You cannot be frugal and experience rapid growth at the same time they work against each other Joseph says if you think youll have rapid growth get in front of it while still not hiring too fast Maintaining the right balance has caused him more than a few sleepless nights Use your gut Follow your instincts he says If youve gotten to this point where youre positioned as a company to experience rapid growth you got there for a reason Joseph also believes in not giving your company away instead bootstrap as much as you can and borrow money from friends and family if you have to Be creative and find ways to keep it for yourself Joseph says If you gear your company right the growth will come It wont come just because you bring on an investor It wont come just because you give away part of your company on Shark Tank Josephs hiring strategy has worked well even though he says it wasnt necessarily by plan or design He hired people more talented than what he could use even though it inflated his payroll When I needed a welder if I had just hired a welder and not a guy who can not only weld but manage production train other welders things like that Id been in a hard place to be able to keep up with the growth he says Luckily the company remains Use your gut Follow your instincts If youve gotten to this point where youre positioned as a company to experience rapid growth you got there for a reason ANDY JOSEPH PRESIDENT APEKS SUPERCRITICAL FEATURE APEKS SUPERCRITICAL SOCIAL MEDIA To learn more about Apeks Supercritical like its Facebook page facebook com apekssupercritical and follow on Twitter @ ApeksFab BY JAYNE GEST JGEST@ SBNONLINE COM