Business Gains Success While Helping Organizations Thrive Through Culture

Vidl Work of Pinellas County

Natalie Johnson, co-founder of Vidl Work, built a firm with her business partner, Rebecca Johnson, dedicated to helping organizations intentionally shape and nurture high-performing workplace cultures. From one-time retreats to long-term culture partnerships, the company guides teams through transformations that elevate energy, prioritize connection on teams and help leaders choose courage—even amid significant changes or staff turnover.

“My business partner and I were in separate types of businesses experiencing the same thing, and we wanted to learn what’s really at the heart of people showing up and being able to perform at their highest potential,” Johnson said. “And what we discovered through focus groups and interviews was all the same kind of answers. I am overwhelmed at work and I don’t even have time to think about going to work out or taking care of myself or taking a break. And so we decided to focus on what we call today, is really the root cause of what gets in the way of people being able to show up and do their job, and that is culture,” Johnson added.

As the firm grew, the co-founders sought to expand into new markets—including government contracts—and connected with the Florida APEX Accelerator at Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED). Through expert guidance from consultant Yolanda Goodloe, they began navigating the world of procurement, learning how to market their services to government entities, build strategic partnerships, and network with agencies looking for cultural transformation solutions.

“We have been able to use so much information that we have gotten from the Florida APEX Accelerator, and I think the conversation initially started in that we wanted to be able to do more with federal government, county government, and cities,” Johnson said. “Florida APEX Accelerator has been really helpful in the journey learning how we need to transition along with the environment so that we can continue to communicate and reach out in the most appropriate way. We need to continue to evolve,” she said.

Since partnering with the Florida APEX Accelerator, Vidl Work has grown its visibility and credibility in the contracting space. The firm has landed new opportunities and deepened its impact—something Johnson sees as just the beginning.

“Well, the business has grown since working with Florida APEX Accelerator in a number of different ways. The main way is that we now have won contracts. The other way, and the reason why we have won more contracts, is ’cause we know what we’re doing. And a thank you to Florida APEX [Accelerator] for that. So, we have a really nice process in place where we are bidding on projects on a regular basis,” Johnson said.

The business owner also mentioned how the Florida APEX Accelerator at PCED gave them the opportunity to use resources that were not easily available before. “We were able to receive subscriptions to Proxity and Niserra at no cost, and it came from the Florida APEX Accelerator,” Johnson said. “That has helped us grow quite a bit and we probably maintain, three to four active contracts at a time and we’re consistently continuing to bid on them as well. So lots of growth,” she added with a smile.

Looking ahead, Johnson plans to continue leveraging the support of the Florida APEX Accelerator to scale strategically and stay prepared for emerging opportunities.

“As we continue to grow our business, we will be using the Florida APEX Accelerator continually to help us grow because they have these great events like the reverse trade show,” Johnson said. “And then even more recently, we’ve realized we need to update our capability statement. It was awesome from when Yolanda helped us the first time, but now things have evolved in the industry and so now we need to update it and add some case studies,” she added.

To any business owner thinking government contracting, Johnson says: “For other small businesses just getting started, it can be so impactful to use the services at Florida APEX Accelerator because in the beginning there are contracts from different government, city, county and schools that need your services. But then the RFP is so overwhelming with the language and the number of pages. Florida APEX Accelerator can help weed through those and know what to focus on and know how to respond.”