At the height of the pandemic, John Gay, NCARB, AIA, NOMA and I competed against one another. We respectively nominated our firms for the same pot of gold aka FedEx’s $50,000 Small Business Grant. There were thousands of founders & makers who placed their firms in the hat. Yet, when John G. checked out the contenders, he decided to build a bridge between his Chicago-based architectural practice JAQ Corporation International AND Dai Technologies Corporation, our home-base is Metropolitan Washington, DC.

Immediately we created synergies. First, I invited John G. to be THE resident design expert for DaiTechCorp’s 2021 webinar series #SmartHome Design w/ EV Adoption in Mind. I was figuring out a way to educate potential clients in real time about the benefits of baking #CleanTech (for the sake of EV adoption) into single-family residential design choices. John liked the concept. And we spent Spring to the Mid-Summer months of 2021 speaking to the masses about two of our favorite subjects: sustainability and the US’s transition to electric vehicles.

Over the next several months for nearly a year, the fearless leaders of JAQ Corp International and DaiTechCorp continued to check-in and introduce each other’s businesses to potential project partners and collaborators from across the country. Note John G. and I never met face-to-face. UNTIL last month at the Airport Minority Advisory Council’s Business & Diversity Conference (#AMAC2020). I was in The Chi for the meeting and invited John G. for coffee. We didn’t meet for coffee. Instead he joined me for AMAC’s Business Matchmaking event and schooled me on how leverage the introductions.

Within days after my return home, a major corporation requested DaiTechCorp respond to a mid-west opportunity. The RFP required EV charger installation experience PLUS Local MBE/WBE/CBE certification. DaiTechCorp is MBE/WBE & JAQ Corp is locally CBE certified. I gave John G. a call and asked for help. He answered while scaling the Rockies during multi-day bike ride. AND he coached me through the process between his cycling drills. AMAZING!

When JAQ Corp International and DaiTechCorp agreed to team, we checked all the boxes for “DE&I” and past performance. We completed the submission w/out an eyebrow raise. Collaboration HEAVEN!

The whole experience was a BIG WIN, and I am looking towards HUGE WIN-WIN!

Lessons learned: Solopreneurs and Early Stage entrepreneurs your reputation and your relationships is your diamond field. Start getting them both right, NOW! You maybe GOOD alone. YET, the marketplace is demanding GREAT. You can’t get to great absorbing to the market is zero-sum game. Rugged individualism is an urban myth. You MUST work with others seeking greatness. Team Work, does make the dream work!

And of course! Thanks John G. for your generosity and support!