Today we’d like to introduce you to Keron and Ariel Williams.
Keron and Ariel, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My wife and I decided to pick up our lives in Orlando, Florida and moved to Houston, Texas in February 2018. We decided once we moved to Houston, we would step out on faith and finally pursue our dreams of starting a tech company. Quitting our jobs, moving, and looking to start a business are probably some of the most stressful life transitions we have faced together, so getting the hang of one of these major changes took us a little time. We decided to take a leap of faith and take them all on at once without any regrets. We put a lot of skin in the game, some would say. Some people told us we were crazy for trying to do everything so fast and at once.
Before starting this tech company, Keron spent nine years as a professional football player in both the NFL and CFL. After a successful career where he won multiple championships in the CFL and was named a perennial All Pro Linebacker in the CFL, we decided we were not going to play it safe and wanted to build a business on both of our strengths which is Marketing and Technology. We literally reached the point where it was more painful to stay in a safe zone than take a risk and potentially make an impact in other people’s businesses/lives.
Keron contacted his best friend of 20 years James Ihedigbo (NFL Superbowl Champion) and asked if Houston was the right place to build a business, raise a family, and grow spiritually and he advocated greatly for the city especially since he opened a Kiddie Academy with his wife a year prior. We made the move to Houston in a matter of 2 weeks! Crazy right! All we had was faith in God and a big dream to help business owners get affordable tech / digital solutions. This is how Gravitt8 Development was founded. When we officially transitioned to Houston we hit the ground running, we started off by connecting with a variety of small businesses and startups within the Houston area and we sent out surveys and did personal phone and in-person interview to find out how hard it was for them to get affordable tech and digital solutions. From our research, we learned that many small business owners said it was difficult or didn’t understand the necessity of tech and digital services for their business. This is when Keron and I knew our company could definitely make an impact and help businesses. Within two years, we have helped 75+ businesses and have grown our company tremendously. However, one thing we will say is “overnight success” happens with a lot of failures and improvements and being ok with taking a big risk.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anything worth having is worth fighting for and the cliché is true when it comes to growing a business in an unfamiliar terrain where the culture, people and practices are vastly different from what you’ve grown to know. We have been faced with a lot of adversity throughout this process, but we’ve earned some invaluable lessons that has shaped our mindset to focus our strategies on a set demographic that will not only benefit but experience our efforts as we try to deliver an experience unlike any tech company they’ve worked with before.
We’ve faced adversities from facing the close of business partnerships in the very early stage to brand recognition, having the wrong people on our team, and even the denial of business loans from major banks that was detrimental to our primitive success as a minority-owned tech startup.
One key thing is that we never gave up and we continually pushed through the process. Our business has grown and expanded greatly from the struggles and obstacles presented. The more we grow and expand is the more we learn something new every day.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Gravitt8 Development – what should we know?
Gravitt8 Development is a tech company that helps aspiring entrepreneurs and companies shape their brand identities through technology. We make it our priority to create beautiful user-centered applications, designs, and websites that deliver an intuitive and organic experience. Our passion for cutting edge technology stems from a sharp and simple focus on what truly matters, People! We enjoy collaborating with our clients to deliver the best tech solutions at both a strategic and functional level.
We specialize in Website Development & Design, Mobile Application Design & Development, Graphic Designs, Logo Development, Web Application Development, UI Design & Development and User Experience Research.
One thing that sets our company apart from other companies is that we are an affordable solution for entrepreneurs and small business owners and we will always go above and beyond to make our clients’ vision a reality.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
We believe that the most significant characteristic that produces success is the cultural vision set forth to lead an organization. Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither was anything meaningful done in seclusion; teamwork is the name of the game. We believe that success lies in facilitating outstanding service in order to make everyone happy. Our intent is to make everyone within our organization whether they are a client or an employee, feel that they play a major role in the process and thus adding value to our systems and direction.
Success is weighed at the value you choose to apply to it. For most people is through capital gain, through others is perceived in brand notoriety. However, at its core, success is an inclusive persona built on integrity, discipline and vision that brings forth additional value through one’s influential network in or throughout their niche market.
Contact Info:
- Address: 708 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002
- Website: www.gravitt8.com
- Phone: 832-329-2554
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/gravitt8dev
- Facebook: facebook.com/gravitt8dev
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