Built to scale

Some companies sizzle from the first sale. Montreal-based Lumenpulse Inc. is one of them: in 2008, its first fiscal year, it logged sales of $3.4 million. In the two years following, its revenue grew by 505% to $20.4 million, earning it 17th place on this year’s PROFIT HOT 50 ranking. And with surging demand for Lumenpulse’s LED lighting fixtures and controls, the firm is on target to double revenue this year.

It’s the kind of growth that can push a fledgling company to the breaking point. But that hasn’t happened at Lumenpulse. Years spent building four other firms had taught president and CEO François-Xavier Souvay the importance of getting his ducks in a row in anticipation of growth. That’s why Souvay began searching for the right senior staff long before making his first sales call. He has since built a team that can capably handle even the most dramatic spikes in demand.

A 20-year veteran of the lighting industry, Souvay had spotted the explosive potential of commercial LED fixtures early on. His observations had convinced him that there’d be room in the market for a firm that combines cutting-edge LED expertise and traditional lighting architecture and design.

In 2006, Souvay set to work creating a firm that would design, engineer, manufacture and sell LED lighting and fixtures for high-end commercial projects. He sat down and drafted a business plan, drawing on his previous entrepreneurial experiences—and mistakes. At the top of his “Don’t do again” list? Hiring mid-level talent first. Without experienced executives to put out fires, he knew he’d find himself distracted from his main objective. “I’d end up managing crises instead of focusing on growth,” he says.

With that, hiring priority No. 1 became securing an experienced team of vice-presidents whom Souvay could entrust with building their respective teams. Using funds generated by another business that he still owned, he recruited a veteran VP of product development. That exec was enticed by Souvay’s clearly laid-out business plan, vision for growth and all-around good rep in the lighting business. Another carrot? Participation in an employee stock-option plan.

That vice-president then hired a product development team, including designers and electrical engineers, to develop Lumenpulse’s offering. Using similar tactics, Souvay then lured a vice-president of sales away from a large U.S-based LED fixture company; that VP hand-picked a sales team to help Lumenpulse capture clients in the promising U.S. market. This strong sales pipeline helped Lumenpulse hit the ground running as soon as it launched officially in 2008. Souvay later replicated the approach to hire a manufacturing VP to help the firm increase production.

Today, Souvay estimates he has 80% of the pieces in place to become a dominant player in the global LED lighting market—which is expected to hit $40 billion in 2015—and he’s working on the remaining 20%. He believes that having a hands-on, cohesive senior executive team allows him to focus on the big picture. Now that Lumenpulse has landed marquee projects such as Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium and its international sales are taking off, it’s safe to say that Souvay has the right idea.