Startup Grind Dayton: Michael Bridges of Peerless Technologies

November 27, 2017

Last week, Startup Grind Dayton‘s Greg Meredith sat down with Michael Bridges, CEO and Founder of Peerless Technologies for our November fireside chat. If you don’t know Peerless, they are a professional services firm that specializes in Systems Engineering, Cybersecurity and Information Technology, Space and Aerospace, and Innovation and Research support services for federal government clients in Defense, Space, Energy, and Homeland Security.

They went from a three-person gig as The Entrepreneurs Center’s first tenant 17 years ago to what is now a $70 million business that just graduated from the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program. In case you missed it, here are highlights from insight and knowledge Michael shared.

Major takeaways

  1. Have a lot of focus. Pivoting can take energy away from the main goals of the company
  2. Regularly work on strategic planning to guide the business
  3. Decide what the company is not going to do or what the company will not sell

What not to do

Don’t forget to invest in yourself. Michael spoke about the importance of professional development for both founders and their leadership team as the company grows. For the business to evolve, it’s leaders also have to develop personally and professionally.

Best tip

“Find good people that have deep knowledge in areas that you don’t.” Michael discussed the tendency for many entrepreneurs to wear all the hats in their business. While founders do need to have a breadth of understanding across their company, they have to rely on people with expertise in law, accounting and other professional services that they will need.

Quote of the day

Start with the end in mind for your company. If you have a goal, you’ll probably hit it.

Must read

“What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” by Marshall Goldsmith. Here, there are 20 bad habits to avoid as a company scales.

Join Us in December!

Our next session will feature David Fisher of Dayton-based Milano’s and R Taco on December 11. If you’re in franchising or in the restaurant business, you won’t want to miss this event.


Candace Dalmagne-Rouge is the Co-Director of Startup Grind Dayton and the Business Director at Ascend Innovations.