Industry: Automotive
Employees: 5
2007 revenues $5 million
Advantage Pressure Pro, a 17-year-old company based in Harrisonville, Mo., had just five employees when owner Phillip Zaroor started to approach other automotive firms about pairing his tire-pressure-monitoring systems with their products. That was in 2006. Last year Zaroor's sales rose to $5 million, from $3 million the previous year. Headcount? Still five.
When Zaroor, 59, noticed that many customers sought a solution that combined fleet management, driver logs, and truck weighing with tire-pressure monitoring, he decided to pursue partnerships with a range of small technology providers.
He eventually signed up more than 30 affiliates, such as Square Rigger, a fleet-maintenance-software vendor in Silverdale, Wash., and Transmobile, a Florida-based tech company that sells asset-tracking applications.
Zaroor's company size allows him direct contact with all staffers and keeps him in the loop when it comes to office buzz. Meanwhile, Zaroor's partnerships let him reach new markets without adding employees. The result: thousands of points of sale and high margins.
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