Take Five with Marty Muscatello, CEO of FoxGuard Solutions and Qualtrax

Take Five is an ongoing RBTC question and answer series where we glean insights from local CEOs and technology leaders in the Roanoke-Blacksburg area.


Marty Muscatello is the CEO of Foxguard Solutions and Qualtrax. He joined CCS-Inc. (the holding company for FoxGuard and Qualtrax, Inc. ) in 2003, serving as President until May 2005, when he was named President and Chief Executive Officer. Since joining CCS, Mr. Muscatello has led the company to significant growth, tripling company revenues and the employee base. Mr. Muscatello is not only dedicated to growing CCS, but to business growth in Southwest Virginia and throughout the State.  He serves on the Executive Committee for the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC).  He also has served on the Service Exports Committee for the Virginia International Trade Alliance (VITAL) and has also been very active in forming the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Network (RBIN) to promote the Roanoke-Blacksburg region for future growth.


 

RBTC: What are some of the regional resources that have contributed to your success?

Marty Muscatello: Regionally, our company has enjoyed the mentorship from multiple individuals in the area that have been willing to share their wisdom. Business leaders, Professors and leadership at Virginia Tech, local Government leaders have all been a part of mentoring our organization to its success. The RBTC plays a big role in helping our organization to move forward as well. Our region also has a strong support community of good attorney and business advisors that are willing to assist in educating companies such as ours as we grow. We have also utilized the VEDP to educate our organization on exporting outside of the United States. The VALET program is an excellent program that offers tremendous advice for exporting products and services to other countries.

RBTC: What makes the Roanoke-Blacksburg region such a good fit for your company?

Marty Muscatello: The RBTC is a great fit for our organization. By utilizing the forums such as Product Manager and Business Development forums, many of our employees get involved and learn what other companies are doing to solve day to day problems. Many great ideas come out of these forums. Also, several of our leadership team members utilize the Roundtable peer groups that offer excellent peer to peer discussions on a monthly basis. The monthly breakfast meetings and other annual events allow many of our employees to get to know many people within other technology companies in the region. All of these things make the RBTC a very good fit for our company.

RBTC: If you could give one piece of advice to a fellow entrepreneur, what would it be?

Marty Muscatello: Reach out to others in the community that can help you. There are so many people within our community willing to help in many ways but you first need to ask.

RBTC: What is one lesson you have learned over time that has made an impact on your business’ day-to-day operations?

Marty Muscatello: There are no shortcuts. At the end of the day, to start and grow your own business requires a great deal of hard work and tenacity. You must find ways to continue to inject energy and strength into the organization. Over time, we can all get stale, even the best of the best. Identifying ways to refresh, ignite and rejuvenate is vital to the continued growth of an organization.

RBTC: How would you like to see the Roanoke-Blacksburg region develop over the next 5 years?

Marty Muscatello: The region has a fantastic opportunity to grow over the next many years. There is tremendous energy with the work of the RBIN, Economic Development organizations, multiple local Governments, multiple Academic entities, and a number of individuals that want to help promote growth within this region. We can create a region that attracts technology companies and the talent associated with these companies if we continue to search and find ways for all of the entities above to work together and drive forward. Virginia Tech takes a strong leadership role here but businesses, other academic institutions and Government entities must step up as well.

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