The 2019 Small Business of the Year Winner: Strata-G

Kelly Rosenblatt
Former Senior Manager, Small Business Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Published

October 09, 2019

Dan Hurst, President and Founder of Strata-G

To better highlight the impressive members of the small business community, we sat down with the 2019 Dream Big Award finalists to learn more about their startup stories, the challenges they have faced, and what the future of business looks like to them. We chatted with Dan Hurst, president and founder of Knoxville, Tennessee-based Strata-G, an engineering firm with a variety of clients and services. Here is what he had to say (what follows has been lightly edited for length and clarity):

Q: What inspired the creation of your business? What problem does it help to solve?

I felt spiritually called to create a professional services business that would treat employees and customers the way we want to be treated; with integrity, service, and quality. Strata-G helps its clients solve challenging technical problems in the environmental, nuclear, and utilities sectors by offering world class engineers, project managers, environmental scientists, and safety professionals.

Q: When it comes to your business, what has been your proudest moment to date?

I am proud of our employees every time our clients praise their work and I’m thankful for our company every time our employees praise our culture.

Q: What impact do you hope your business has on society as it grows?

I hope that Strata-G will continue to have a positive impact on society by continuing to serve its employees well, continuing to earn the respect of our clients, and continuing to enhance the missions of our outreach partners by conserving the environment and improving the lives of folks in need in our community.

Q: If selected as the winner of the Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award, how will you invest the $25,000 grand prize?

If we win the Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award, we will invest the prize money in a collaborative matching grant with two of our key outreach partners, Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM) and Westview Community School, in order to enhance educational opportunities for the homeless and underserved children in Knoxville’s inner-city. We will work to engage others to multiply the gift while integrating the strengths of both organizations.

Q: In your experience, what do you think the future of business looks like for the next generation?

I think the future of business for the next generation will be highly collaborative, competitive, and technologically fast-changing. At the same time, I believe that the timeless ideal of treating others as you wish to be treated, and building on foundational core values like integrity, service, and quality will continue to produce business cultures that are fun and rewarding with inherent competitive advantages.

To learn more about the 2019 Dream Big Award finalists, clickhere.