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MAKING IT
They've Seen the Light

Enlightened Inc. provides technical business offerings

--- Bridget McCrea

Who says three good friends can't form a successful business partnership?

They were engineering students at George Washington University who met at the Black Student Union during their freshman year. It didn't take long for the three to become good friends and form a true college bond. Upon graduating, they went their separate ways, but always kept one another in mind as they worked their corporate America careers.

Now they're business partners and founders of Washington, D.C.-based Enlightened Inc., a provider of business process services, software development, electronic document management systems, Web design, and technical staffing. Once again, President Antwanye Ford, 35, Vice President Andre Rogers, 34, and Vice President Thomas Spann, 35, are tackling new horizons, much like they did in college.

Founded as a home-based business with a $45,000 investment from its owner's credit cards and personal savings, Enlightened expects to gross $1 million this year, up from $650,000 last year.

Along with the initial cash infusion, Ford says two customers also helped the company get off the ground. Integrated HealthCare Auditing and Services Inc. and Resource Network International, both black-owned, 8(a) firms, gave the trio their first opportunities. Today, the firms outsource their entire software development and process work to Enlightened.

But not everyone had such open arms, so Ford, Rogers, and Spann decided to use a divide and conquer approach to business development. Spann is responsible for federal and local government contracts; Rogers heads up the technical staffing; and Ford handles document content management and telecommunication services. The dividing lines end at business development, as the three share staff, office space, and resources.

Even with a three-pronged approach, Ford says the underlying challenge to success

By proving that Enlightened could handle a project the first time, then proving that it could do it again, Ford says the company was able to get its foot in the door at clients like Fannie Mae and Nextel. You almost have to do things twice, he says, adding that offering services like content management, process reviews, and best-practice studies typically handled only by large, high-end consulting companies also helped attract clients early on.

Patrick L. Carter, managing partner at the accounting firm Carter Associates in Silver Spring, Maryland, has observed and worked with Enlightened since its beginning. Carter says, "The founders work well together because each members talents complement the others, and because each owner takes on a different role within the firm. All have their own responsibilities and maintain a degree of autonomy."

Enlightened Inc., 666 11th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001;