Looking to create something with lasting impact and value, a group of business partners get together. They land on an idea — a system for allowing people to start their own businesses; from which they could serve customers on behalf of A-level clients.
By connecting massive brands to local and independent sales offices around the country, everyone could grow!
These business partners bring Jim Majeski into the fold. The idea of forming a network of independent companies, lights him up with excitement.
The idea resonates because Jim has already seen the profound impact of entrepreneurship in his life and was no stranger to sales. A friend in his neighborhood, growing up would sell meat and seafood door to door.
“How much do you get paid per hour?” Jim asked him.
“By the hour?” The kid smiles. “I get paid based on what I sell.”
With that, the entrepreneurial spark was lit in Jim Majeski.
Joining the business partnership that would soon result in the foundation of Cydcor, Jim brings a background in the telecom industry. He had been at a young start-up — one that was fast-moving and gung-ho to take on the telecom world. Jim knows first-hand how a network of independent companies would be instrumental for telecom growth.
He was there (1984) as new regulations were set in the telecom industry. The top brands (who had been resting on their laurels) weren’t ready for the influx of competition that was to come.
While his business partners go off in their own directions, Jim Majeski sets his sights on the big players in the telecom industry — he knows they are starting to feel the pain of the shifting landscape.
If just one of these massive clients would trust the ICL model to solve their sales and marketing problems, the rest of the new business could take off. Pitch after pitch, the answer continues to be no — but Jim refuses to give up.
One cold February morning in Bedminster, NJ, Jim finally gets the meeting of a lifetime where he promises to get customers himself:
“I will be the one going to businesses, knocking on doors. I will be personally representing your brand. I will live in the field and build this. And I’m the one who’s going to report back to you at the end of the day. I can’t give you a perfect program — but I can give you a perfect response,” Jim told them.
It’s a gambit, for both parties. Boy, does it ever pay off.
Long-lasting companies can’t be built alone.
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For this to work, Jim needs to be surrounded with people who are hyper-aggressive about their goals, entrepreneurs at heart, and people who have the whole world in front of them. On these principles, he finds the first team to sell in Long Island, NY.
Just as the sky’s the limit for Jim, the goal is to have a business where everyone involved can say the same.
Over an 18-month period, the team has gone full tilt and the results are astounding. This new out-sourced sales team might even be outselling the client's internal team.
Not only are they selling, but this new team is also uncovering blind spots.
It’s now been three years since they started, and the team is doing upwards of 30 million in billing.
Months of grinding, living in the field, and building the ship as it sails has made for great growth. It’s hard work, and they’re determined to keep their client for the next 25+ years.
They’ve now outgrown their infrastructure — the backend of Cydcor cannot keep up with the frontend. A good problem, but a solution is needed.
Enter Gary Polson — a straight-shooting entrepreneur who’s just sold out of his successful printing business, pivoting out of an industry soon under threat from the rise of the internet. With sharp intelligence and skill, a reputation for valuing his employees and team, Jim thinks Gary’s the perfect executive to create some order and to help scale Cydcor into something even bigger.
Gary falls in love with the vision. It’s about working hard, being the best, doing right by the clients, and creating opportunities for people.
Along with Gary, other key people step up, excited about the promise of Cydcor. A new era has begun.
Gary takes the helm as the people of Cydcor push to deliver and drive major increases in quality and follow-through. This is a stressful and challenging time — but Cydcor’s leadership does what they must for the greater good.
Out of this a new Cydcor emerges, one that places a massive expectation around “WOWing” the client. This high standard starts attracting top talent — there’s new energy and alignment. Excitement grows for what’s next.
As this is unfolding — a young entrepreneur named Vera Quinn is finding her way in the Cydcor network. She’s worked in the field, excelled in recruitment, and is currently at an independent sales company in Toronto.
Her servant leadership (along with a passion for optimizing processes) stands out to Gary, who knows that one day, there will need to be somebody new to become the custodian of Cydcor.
He soon asks Vera to join the Cydcor team at their head office in California. Thinking this will be a brief stint in the sunshine state, Vera agrees.
Cydcor prides itself on being a “people helping people” business, and its commitment to corporate philanthropy has remained a cornerstone of the company’s corporate values. Encouraging team members to support their communities.
In 2012, Cydcor and its network collaborate to raise money and awareness for Operation Smile and earn a chance to participate in their first medical mission.
In 2014, keeping pace with its rapid growth, Cydcor has relocated several times, finally settling into a custom-designed 40,000 sq. foot, state-of-the-art headquarters in Agoura Hills, CA.
The vibrant workspace lives up to Cydcor’s rich corporate culture, built around "The Behaviors We Value,” and Cydcor’s mission to provide opportunities for its team members — from development and training to social events and health and wellness resources. Cydcor ensures team members have what they need to help them thrive.
In 2015, Vera becomes Cydcor’s 1st female president. This is a huge milestone for Cydcor and its network – Cydcor is now being led by a professional who has gone through the field and can represent all sides of this growing business.
A year later in 2016, Cydcor earns Dealer of the Year for the first time from its largest client — beating out nearly 4,000 other dealers.
By 2017, Cydcor earns the opportunity to volunteer for the 6th time at an Operation Smile medical mission.
In 2020, Vera Quinn is named Cydcor’s Chief Executive Officer — truly embodying the power of Cydcor’s opportunity-based business.
Starting as a door-to-door sales representative more than 20 years ago, Quinn pursued her goal of becoming CEO with her hallmarks of passion, tenacity, and having a student mentality.
“As CEO and President, I remain committed to the two tenants of our business — first, wowing our clients by consistently coming through for them, and second, creating opportunity for the people in our business so they can achieve their professional goals,” said Quinn. “There is nothing more important than delivering for our people and our clients,” Quinn emphasized. “This is what has fueled our success in the past, just as it will in the future.”
Vera works hard mobilizing the organization to solve for face-to-face selling issues caused by the pandemic, leveraging the opportunity to develop and launch touchless selling technologies enabling the company to evolve and thrive with new strategies for customer acquisition.
In 2023, Cydcor is named for the 11th time as one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Los Angeles Business Journal and for a seventh time as the “Dealer of the Year” by its largest client.
Industries change, but hard work, entrepreneurship, and serving others will always be essential to a company that never stops growing. Cydcor guards these principles closely and will pass them on to the next generation to ensure continual growth.
As Vera has stated, “at Cydcor we don’t believe in finish lines, because we work so that our values continue to help people long after we are gone.”
The Cydcor legacy lies in the future, not the past.
What will your Cydcor story be?
See how much you know about Cydcor’s history. Introducing Cydcor Trivia!
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In 1994
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Jim Majeski
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12x
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Vera Quinn
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