More News

A Largo consulting business just topped $3 million in annual revenues last year, making top growth lists and securing a contract with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, all while housed in a Prince George's County business incubator.

Angarai, which started in 2003 and now has 17 employees, ranked No. 330 on Inc. magazine's list of the nation's 500 fastest-growing privately held companies, one of the two Prince George's companies on the list. Company revenues grew 735 percent to $3 million from $4,081 in 2005. Array Information Technology in Greenbelt ranked No. 303 with revenue growth of 781.4 percent over that time.

Currently operating in the Prince George's County Technology Assistance Center, an incubator run through the county Economic Development Corp., Angarai offers management consulting, business transformation services and information technology services.

Charlotte Ducksworth, director of the incubator and the county's Small Business Initiative, said the county expected Angarai to make Inc.'s list, although nobody was sure where it would rank.

"We're so excited because we saw their potential," she said.

CEO Venkat A.R. Subramanian named the company after his hometown in India, which he left in the 1990s to pursue a career in math and computer science. He worked for several computer and technology companies before starting Angarai in his living room.

"I saw government agencies struggling with management," he said. "I always felt the ability to provide unique value position services [that] wasn't being done by employers."

While Angarai's large revenues are not out of the question for incubator companies, which are typically small startups, they are not the norm, said Ruth Semple, president of the Maryland Business Incubation Association.

"We don't have too many that hit that [$3 million] while they're in the incubator — usually when they graduate," Semple said, adding that Maryland incubators typically do not look at revenues to decide if companies must leave. Rather, companies move out when they grow out of their space or meet certain objectives.

Ducksworth said the county incubator holds individual agreements with each startup, determining milestones to be met before the company graduates. She said the company might also leave if its growth exceeds the incubator's size constraints.

Subramanian said Angarai's role is to be an additional pair of eyes for its clients. Angarai often serves as a middleman between agencies and their contractors, managing communications for the organizations.

"He's phenomenal in his ability to grasp loose ends and make sense of them for all parties involved," said Phil Greubel, customer liaison and communication coordinator for the Washington transit authority. "He's quite the assistant in getting thoughts across. He puts his skill set to work."

Angarai handled analytical work and software development for a major Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority contractor, Bentley Systems of Exton, Pa., which provides rail maintenance for the Metro system. Like many government contractors, Bentley is required to subcontract with small and disadvantaged businesses. Greubel, who had previously worked with Subramanian when the latter was himself a WMATA employee, recommended Angarai to Bentley.

"We are a problem-solver," Subramanian said.