Native American SDVOSB and SBA 8(a) Business Graduate Mentors Others
After holding mid-senior level positions in business development and strategic marketing roles with Fortune 1000 Companies and assignments with the U.S. Air Force Reserves and the Pentagon, Scott Allen decided to move back to his roots in west Kentucky and open Wisdom Tree Technologies, LLC (WTT) in 2007.
WTT serves the defense, law enforcement, national security and inter-agency industries as well as corporations. The company is an SBA 8(a) certified business that is a Native-American and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) headquartered in Murray, KY. Despite the unique skills offered and SBA certifications, WTT had difficulty obtaining federal government contracts.
As President and CEO, Scott met with Cherie Guilford, Business Opportunity Specialist with the SBA Kentucky District Office. Cherie had over 20 years of experience with various federal government agencies as a Contract Specialist. She also had owned and operated a small business for over 10 years, where she maintained a contract with the Kentucky Procurement Technical Assistance Center. Cherie’s experiences qualified her as extremely knowledgeable about the federal, state and local government contracting process.
She met with the WTT management team to help them understand the federal procurement process and which agencies would be the best fit for services they provided. Cherie continued to provide hands-on assistance and frequent communication to Scott regarding federal contract opportunities. Scott is extremely pleased with the guidance, insight and encouragement Cherie Guilford provided.
When the pandemic struck, WTT applied for and received an SBA COVID-19 EIDL and Advance to help pay expenses and survive. After working with Cherie, WTT received a small federal contract that quickly developed into more and larger contracts.
WTT invests in its workforce, offering a comprehensive benefits plan that includes: medical, dental, vision and other healthcare and life insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; and paid vacation, holidays and sick time.
The company uses the SBA 7(j) Management and Technical Assistance training program for on-boarding new employees, Security, Awareness and Anti-Human Traffic training for all employees and pays continuing education fees for its health clinicians.
Scott began mentoring SBA 8(a) Women-Owned and HUBZone certified small businesses and another SDVOSB. WTT focuses on hiring military veterans and college graduates from rural communities and offers internships for college students. The company supports Native American Relief activities to provide tribal and individual Native American youth with quality-of-life assets, educational opportunities and positive role models.
WTT was accepted into the prestigious Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. Scott said, “The knowledge gained has enabled me to better manage the business and position us to compete for more federal contracts.”
WTT was invited to a U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) small business round table event in 2018. This event helped the USSOCOM better understand the barriers small businesses face in doing business with USSOCOM. WTT supports many charities, including those for disabled veterans, Shop with a Cop, Special Olympics, Project Graduation, youth sports, Junior Achievement and other community assistance programs.