Community-driven business finds success in federal contracts
KapCook Enterprises of Hillsborough County
After spending 32 years working in the emergency management disaster response industry, Preston Cook was set to retire. But, he decided he wasn’t quite finished making an impact within his community. That’s when Cook decided to create KapCook Enterprises, an emergency management disaster response company that specializes in contracting with local, state, and federal agencies on emergency management, preparedness, and disaster recovery.
Cook knew he wanted his new business to provide services that would make a difference, but he wasn’t sure how to go about figuring out what next steps would be best for the company.
“For us, our initial concern was understanding what we needed to do,” Cook said. “We were really looking for local resources, or any resource that could help us understand what the next steps were. Fortunately, my wife recommended the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center [PTAC] at University of South Florida to me. And let me tell you, it’s really been the best decision we’ve made thus far.”
Since getting in contact with Florida PTAC at USF, Cook has been able to accomplish a multitude of things within his business that he never thought possible.
“Since working with PTAC here at USF, our business has grown significantly in just a few short years,” he said. “We started with zero contracts, and after working with Karen Krymski, our representative, we ended up getting four different contracts on the federal side. Not only have we gotten contracts since we’ve been working with PTAC, but we’ve also grown from a two-person shop to a seven-person company as well.”
With so much success already under his belt, Cook is looking forward to seeing what’s in store for the future of his business under the guidance of Krymski and the Florida PTAC at USF.
“As we grow our business, we will definitely continue to use PTAC to assist us in understanding what the next steps are,” he said. “We have been very fortunate thus far working with PTAC, and the council that we’ve gotten from our representative Karen has been so valuable to us. We know that we will be able to get ahead of the game, and get valid, timely information that will help us continue to grow and avoid pitfalls.”
As he continues to build his business, he plans on letting other business owners know about the business resources available.
