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CLEVELAND, OHIO – Micki Tubbs and Michelle Tomallo, co-founders of FIT Technologies, received the prestigious Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Technology.
Ernst & Young hosted a black-tie ceremony at Playhouse Square on June 11th where they presented the 2008 Entrepreneur Of The Year awards. E&Y began the Entrepreneur Of The Year award’s program in 1986 to honor the accomplishments of outstanding business people who have successfully and creatively grown businesses that support economic development and job creation. Entrepreneurs are honored in regional programs and then advance to the national/international programs in over a 135 cities and 50 countries making this a truly global initiative. Micki and Michelle were two of the 30 finalists selected from more than 100 applications in the North East Ohio region. From the finalists, seven categories winners were announced. Because of their win in the region, they are eligible to compete for the national award in Palm Springs, California.
Micki and Michelle are co-founders of FIT Technologies, one of North East Ohio’s largest IT service providers, combining a full-range of technology capabilities. FIT Technologies was based on the innovative idea of designing a K – 12 communication portal, a concept that was not yet to market in 1999. Micki and Michelle then took a significant risk to move from being a product provider to a service provider. The risk paid off and was the impetus to allow the company to grow by nearly doubling its revenue consecutively for three years in 2004 ($3M), 2005 ($7M), and 2006 ($13M). The company reported over $13 million in revenue for 2007. FIT has grown to 170 staff members working primarily in Cleveland, Akron, and College Park, Maryland, with staff servicing clients in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania as well.
“We were delighted to have been selected as finalists—but to win one of the awards has been both humbling and thrilling,” remarked Michelle Tomallo. She added, “The opportunity to learn more about other local entrepreneurs has been interesting and motivating for the two of us and our staff.”
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