Today we’d like to introduce you to Hesam Lamei. His team shares his story with us below.
From Aventis Systems’ humble beginnings as an exemplary value-added reseller (VAR) providing high-quality products and best practices information technology (IT) counsel, the company made waves among larger competitors for including unprecedented support for small and midsized customers. Aventis Systems’ story began when Lamei sold computer memory to make some extra money while in college and to help with family finances in the early 2000s. Lamei sold computer memory in an eBay store called Quality Rams. Due to the steady revenue growth and consistent profitability, Lamei decided to expand his offerings and began selling refurbished servers and storage lines under a new name, Aventis Systems, in 2008.
In January of 2008, the weakening economy throughout the United States started to affect small and large business alike. Companies everywhere were forced to stretch their ever-tightening budgets while satisfying their requirements for IT maintenance and growth. When Aventis Systems opened its doors with a mission to fill the need for affordable server hardware equipment, it could not have been at a more opportune time.
Lamei’s first hire was a Director of Information Technology, charged with developing the company’s infrastructure, hardware build processes, and technical support department. In September of 2008, Lamei hired a Director of Business Development with the dual purpose of building a direct sales team and establishing a marketing department and brand identity for the company. In October 2008, Aventis Systems expanded into the HP Proliant servers to provide a greater variety of options for our current customer base. By the end of the first year, to fill increasing consumer demand for quality refurbished equipment, Aventis Systems bought an entire suite of business-class desktops, laptops and workstations. In January of 2009, Aventis Systems saw tremendous growth as we expanded from a single warehouse location to an addition sales and marketing office; we simultaneously grew web presence by launching the Aventis Systems website and continued to expand our footprint on eBay. With these channels in place, sales continued to climb and by December of 2009, Lamei hired a Vice President to manage the direct sales operation. This trend of upward growth continued into 2010 as we continued to hire and market our online channels. In April of 2010, Aventis Systems began selling new and refurbished Cisco equipment in order to provide a more complete business solution, consisting of networking equipment to complement the servers, storage, desktops and laptops already offered. In April of 2016, the company launched an updated brand identity including a new logo, mission statement and company values. The purpose of updating the brand identity after eight years in business was to appropriately communicate the company identity that naturally evolved over the years with redefined business objectives along with expanded product and service offerings.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
An obstacle that we overcame in the early stages, was to develop processes, procedures and standards for our business. Our company was growing at such a rapid speed, it became critical to invest additional time in learning and developing business processes. After documenting important business processes, we learned that when employees follow a well-tested set of procedures, there are fewer errors and delays, less duplicated effort, and staff and customers feel more satisfied and appreciated. The formalization and implementation of business processes drastically improved our operations, provided consistency, served as a training tool for employees, and measured performance throughout the entire company.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Aventis Systems – what should we know?
Aventis Systems offers custom IT solutions to build and operate complete physical and virtual infrastructures. Our comprehensive solutions include high-quality refurbished and new hardware, system and application software and an array of in-depth managed services including infrastructure consultation, cloud hosting and migration, virtualization deployment, data disaster recovery, security consultation, hardware relocation and equipment buyback.
Aventis Systems’ virtualization expertise and cloud services allow customers to deploy with ease, migrate seamlessly, and minimize downtime with offsite disaster recovery locations as well as shortened application rollout.
We offer customers a choice to fully customize their IT solution with a hands-on, business-minded sales professional or select tailored solutions through premier online channels. Customers receive personalized support that provides guidance during the planning stage and procurement, seamless delivery and deployment, and continued technical support through and beyond the life of physical and virtual systems.
The mission at Aventis Systems is to work relentlessly with IT professionals to make their jobs easier; provide sound advice to meet technical and budgetary requirements; give peace of mind regarding infrastructure and cloud investments; and offer an exceptional customer experience from start to finish. The company values, including customer experience, proprietary process, technical support, company diversity and persistent improvement, together allow Aventis Systems to Get IT Done.
Aventis Systems’ is extremely proud to give back to their community. As the result of Lamei’s upbringing and his desire to make a difference in the local community, Aventis Systems takes pride in the fact that we are able to give back to our community. We recognize the importance of education which is why Aventis Systems has proven its commitment to the local academic community by sponsoring organizations at Southern Polytechnic University’s campus, located in Marietta, GA. Examples of these sponsorships include the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Team, the Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers. Technology is imperative to non-profit organizations. Therefore, Lamei and Aventis Systems were also honored to donate a new Dell server Hosea Feed the Hungry. This new server replaced the non-profit’s old server, which lacked sufficient hard drive space to run essential business applications. Aventis Systems, Inc. has also partnered with TechBridge, an Atlanta based non-profit organization, that helps other nonprofits with their technology needs, in order to sponsor their Digital Ball.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Entrepreneurship is in Lamei’s genes. His parents, who brought their family to the United States from Iran in 1991, exemplify the American Dream. In 1993, they opened their clothing and accessories store at AmericasMart Atlanta. Lamei credits his parents with helping him realize how rewarding it can be to run your own business, despite the pressure of knowing that your livelihood and job security are in your own hands.
Lamei was determined to push the limits in order to launch and grow his technology hardware company, Aventis Systems, Inc. In the midst of difficult economic times in 2008 and 2009, Lamei lived on a meager salary while dipping into savings to survive as he got Aventis Systems, Inc. off the ground. Throughout the past 4 years, Lamei has never looked back as he constantly focuses on the future and his next move. By thinking outside the box, he has developed a business model focused on customer satisfaction, value creation, and employee cohesiveness. In light of his position as “president” and his still-growing staff, Lamei remains 100% hands on in every aspect of the company from budget approval, to product shipping, to customer service. Ultimately, Lamei derives his determination and passion from recognizing that the more time you put into the business, the more you get out of it in the long run. As the result of his dedication and perseverance, Aventis Systems, Inc. is projected to achieve continued year-over-year growth in 2017.
Contact Info:
- Address: 200 Galleria Pkwy.
- Website: www.aventissystems.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aventissystems/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aventissystems/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AventisSystems
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aventis-systems-inc.
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