I’ve posted about Denny Hecker’s travails since the downturn which has caused him financial ruin. He has been sued for millions and sell of much of his auto empire. News comes today that he is selling three more dealerships and two franchises to Walser Automotive Group.
Tags: Auto dealerships, Denny Hecker
Reading Tea Leaves by Randy Wilson 
May 28, 2009 at 7:42 pm |
Selling Transcend Communications to auto magnate Denny Hecker.
Launching new firm, Paragon Solutions founders keep focus on service
After they sold their telecom services company two years ago, Todd and Maria Vojta had to hang up the phones, so to speak — their noncompete clause kept them from working in telecommunications.
The deal forced the husband-and-wife team to refocus on their next venture, but their emphasis on customer service didn’t change. That’s helped them build a new company, Paragon Solutions Group Inc.,
Paragon sells technology that protects data and helps systems share information. The Vojtas launched it in 2007 after selling their previous company, Transcend Communications, which provided telecommunication technology to businesses, to auto magnate Denny Hecker. Selling Transcend, which had more than 4,000 customers at the time, required the Vojtas to enter a noncompete clause that prevented Paragon from working with telecommunications. (Last month, that clause expired, making room for a healthy Paragon expansion.)
Adjusting from telephones to IP and IT technology has been surprisingly smooth, Todd said. “We knew it had to be done. We had been watching it and learning it.”
Starting Paragon, based in Corcoran, fulfilled a desire to “go deeper” in network providing, CEO Maria said. When the Vojtas started Transcend, Todd already had worked in telecommunications at AT&T Inc. Expanding to IT required a lot of research that Maria, a technology buff, was more than happy to do.
“We had only one focus at Transcend, and we became narrowly focused,” she said. Paragon offered them the chance to step back and include all forms of communication.
One thing that didn’t change from the last company was the Vojtas’ basic business model: keeping customers happy. Todd even hits a philosophical note when he describes his work priorities.
“If you live and breathe it, it’s who you are and not what you say,” said Todd, Paragon’s president.
Jesse Cahman, director of safety and security at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park, said he’s been happy with Paragon’s service. The company’s worked on changing the college’s recording software and recently won a bid to expand the school’s axis camera installation.
“They’ve reduced my costs be almost 50 percent,” he said. “That’s pretty much why they’ve won both projects.”
By adding telecommunications, Paragon expects to gain an extra 15 customers a month on top of its average monthly addition of 10. It’s growing faster than Transcend was when it was in similar stages.
But the Vojtas are careful not to let their company grow too fast. “We’re taking things very slow, making sure things are right,” Maria said.