12 People You Need to Know in 2014: Thomas Douglas

Had his career gone as originally planned, Thomas Douglas would be a Navy SEAL.

The son of Bolivar attorney Kerry Douglas of Douglas, Haun & Heidemann PC, Thomas Douglas says he had long been confused about his career path before setting a goal to become a SEAL.

After missing an early opportunity to join the exclusive group’s ranks, Douglas was chided by a few SEALs while out to sea and their dismissal fueled a fire within.

“I’ve since met a few SEALs who were great guys and not that way at all, but at the time I thought, ‘That’s not how I will ever treat people,’” Douglas says.

Douglas found his path while writing a new financial database for the Navy when a chief recommended he pursue the technology field.

“He told me a lot of people could do what I was doing for the Navy, but few could do what I had the potential to do and have a positive impact on the economy by creating jobs,” Douglas says. “I have really never looked back.”

In 1997, Douglas left the Navy and started work for JMark Business Solutions Inc. By 2001, he bought the roughly seven-employee company. In 2013, the firm had nearly 70 workers and was in growth mode.

With headquarters at 601 N. National Ave., JMark comprises a fully manned office in Fayetteville, Ark., and a satellite office in Colorado. Acquisitions in 2008 of NetWorks Inc. and NetManage Inc. that resulted in a fully-staffed sales force, spurred big growth for the company. Since 2008, JMark has hit annual revenue growth of up to 35 percent each year.

JMark recorded 2012 revenue of $8.56 million, a 34 percent increase from 2011, and 2013 is projected to close in on $11 million.

“We’ve developed a growth culture here,” Douglas says of the firm that serves the information technology and data protection needs of such clients as Ollis & Co., and John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts. “But too much growth is a bad thing.”

 The company, which was recognized nationally by Inc. magazine four consecutive years – No. 3,673 on the Inc. 5000 list for 2013 for 81 percent revenue growth during the past three years – for its meteoric rise, is capping growth at 35 percent per year to make sure a focus on customer service remains the top priority, Douglas says.

The new path has lead Douglas not only to business success, but also personal gains. The Springfield branch of the U.S. Small Business Administration named Douglas the 2013 Missouri Small Business Person of the Year.[[In-content Ad]]