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As TekTegrity Inc. celebrates it's two year anniversary, Russ Levanway CEO and young entrepreneur shares his story of struggle and success in the founding of TekTegrity. At the age of 25, Russ became the Network Administrator of Cuesta College (a community college in San Luis Obispo, California). During his two years in that position, Russ played a key role in modernizing and streamlining Cuesta's technology landscape through a series of successful projects he conceptualized and implemented. Russ is currently the CEO and majority shareholder of his own hi-tech IT company, TekTegrity, Inc.
Born in New York, 29-year old Russ Levanway has been deaf since age 4, due to spinal meningitis, a highly dangerous bacterial infection. In spite of doctors’ dire predictions of brain damage, paralysis, and perhaps a life “not worth living,” Russ’s mother angrily insisted that her son receive the best care possible. She organized prayer groups from their local church and stayed strong. After two heart-wrenching weeks, Russ was released from the hospital, deaf in both ears, and unable to walk.
The family was told that it would take Russ months before he would regain his ability to stand and walk, but his determination enabled him to walk again within weeks. It probably helped that Russ, the oldest of six children, had an 11 month old brother who was starting to walk at the time. Russ four years old, at the time, was determined to not crawl while his baby brother walked!
Unfortunately, Russ’s hearing loss was permanent. Growing up with a hearing loss was challenging, understanding what was happening in school was difficult, and oftentimes, Russ would get into trouble, not realizing some of the things he was doing were inappropriate. The availability of special services at the school Russ attended were few and far between. Russ’s parents realized the issues he was up against and took him out of traditional school. They home-schooled him for several years and, when he was in high school, enrolled him part-time in a private school.
Russ likes to say that H.O.P.E. (Having an Overcomers Perspective in Everything), is very important when facing life’s obstacles. Although profound hearing loss can be a huge physical obstacle that can impact your quality of life, it can also be the catalyst to develop other character qualities needed to succeed. According to Russ, his parents never expected anything less of him and never treated him any differently than their other children. He was encouraged (and expected) to succeed in life.
In 2003, at age 24, Russ received a cochlear implant (like Rush Limbaugh’s). A cochlear implant is an electronic device surgically implanted in the inner ear and used with an external device that picks up sounds and transmits them electronically to the internal device. Unlike a hearing aid, it does not simply make sounds louder. Instead, it bypasses damaged parts of the middle and inner ear and transmits electronic signals to the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve sends these signals directly to the brain, allowing those who are profoundly deaf to regain their hearing.
Before the implant, communication was a huge barrier for Russ, sometimes seeming insurmountable. After the implant, Russ was gradually able to understand speech more clearly, making networking and relationship building conversations a reality.
While thrilled with his new-found hearing, it was not an overnight achievement. Russ says the first few weeks were difficult. There were constant adjustments to sound programs on the implant and daily headaches because of all the new sounds that Russ had never heard before. He did however start noticing positive results within a few weeks. In a month his speech recognition shot up from 0% with hearing aids to 30% with the implant, and in six months his speech recognition had improved to 60%. Today Russ’s speech recognition is around 70%, thanks to a newer device he received in 2006 and lots of tweaks along the way. His own speech has been affected in a positive way, simply because he can now hear himself talk. He enjoys music, is very aware of environmental sounds, and can even talk on the telephone with some people.
In 2001, Russ began a part-time Information Technology support firm for local school districts called Affordable Services. Over time, Affordable Services client base grew and Russ made the decision to leave his position at Cuesta College to focus full time on the young business. In 2005, the company underwent key changes, including changing the name to TekTegrity. Jeremy Koellish, a good friend and former co-worker at Cuesta College, teamed up with Russ in 2005 to grow TekTegrity and expand from supporting a few school districts to offering critical IT services to local businesses. Their humble beginnings were started on a card table in the living room of Russ and Sarah’s home! Now, less than 2 years later, TekTegrity has 25 employees and a continuing trend of hiring, on average, one new employee every month, and they are expanding their business for the third time, having just moved into their newest office at 205 Suburban Road in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Russ and Jeremy attribute their success to hard work, dedication, and a commitment to excellent service. Russ notes that his inspiration comes from both of his parents who were incredibly hard workers. His father worked full time while also building the family home in Oneonta, New York. His mother raised six children; home schooled them, and started her own business. They taught Russ the value of quality work and a job well done through their own lives.
Russ was honored by The San Luis Obispo County Tribune newspaper as one of its “Top 20 Under 40” entrepreneurs in January 2007. The award recognizes young professional who have demonstrated both professional excellence and a profound commitment to their community in San Luis Obispo County.
As an active member of the local community Russ is a member of Leadership SLO 2008 and is on the Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Advocacy Committee. With his wife, Russ organizes a group to serve food to the homeless at Prado Day Center. As a business owner, Russ sees first hand how the local economy runs and appreciates the challenges local government has in keeping the business community vibrant and healthy. Russ would like to become more involved in district and regional politics in the near future. He feels that a healthy consensus on many issues can come from bringing opposing viewpoints together, asking questions, and developing a rapport through mutually agreed upon perspectives.
Russ’s business focus is delivering premium IT support and management to ensure TekTegrity customers receive the highest level of service available. TekTegrity’s success has not come from acquiring as many customers as possible through quick sales tactics, but from relationship building and long term engagements with loyal customers. This is a pattern that will continue under Russ’s leadership.
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