The idea seems simple. Yet, no other IT equipment reseller in North America offers SMEs and large corporations alike what Quadbridge offers: a single point of contact. Just one person to talk to for purchasing IT equipment, services, and even financing, in every country. “The customer deals only with ‘their’ account manager, who liaises with our teams of technicians, programmers, and manufacturers. With other resellers, the customer has to speak to 20 different people,” says Kevin Laleyan, 35, Quadbridge’s director of growth and strategy.
Michael D’Ornellas, the finance director, cites the example of a special effects company. “They need a $100,000 machine, but for a specific contract that will only last three months. We use manufacturers’ financing programs to offer deferred payments, buyback plans, and much more. Our competitors don’t take the time to do that.”
Until 2012, Quadbridge was just one of over 40,000 resellers in North America, acting as intermediaries between customers and manufacturers like Cisco, Dell, Hewlett Packard, and Lenovo. The company, founded five years earlier by CEO PJ Emam and International Development Director Ryan Peters, struggled to support four employees.
“The turning point came when we realized we had to do more than just offer boxes of hardware: we had to provide our customers with advice and complete solutions,” says Kevin Laleyan. And then, surprisingly, sales took off! In 2013, Quadbridge landed a prestigious contract with a web giant looking to deploy its fiber optic network in Arizona. Five years later, the company boasts clients as well-established and diverse as Yahoo and the Montreal Alouettes.
Quadbridge’s new initiative is called QBITS: a symposium that has brought together over 150 clients and suppliers every year for the past two years, attracting a large number of Montreal multimedia companies, particularly those specializing in special effects and video games.
“They have significant IT needs, but not necessarily all the staff to manage purchasing, maintenance, and security,” says Kevin Laleyan, who explains that the company is integrating itself into Montreal’s multimedia ecosystem. “It’s very promising for us.”
