15 Years and Counting: A Reflection on RevGen Partners’ Evolution

 

“I’m proud we’ve been in business 15 years,” Jason Hansen, President and CFO of RevGen Partners says with a smile, “that says a lot. I’m proud we’ve been able to grow. But I think the thing I’m probably most proud about is the impact we’ve had on our employees’ lives.” 

March 1, 2023, marked RevGen Partners’ 15th anniversary. It is a milestone for the company which Jason, CEO Kirk Mielenz, Chairman of the Board Michael Turner, and CSO Robert Sunker have nurtured from a small shop into over 135 consultants, contractors, and support staff.  

We sat down with the four of them to chat about RevGen’s early days and what surprised them along this journey. 

“I don’t know if the word is surprised,” Michael says. “I think impressed would be a better word. I’ve been impressed with how we’ve adapted to the constantly changing marketplace. And I’m incredibly impressed with how resilient our team is, and how they’ve flexed to deal with these rapid shifts in the market.” 

Kirk adds to that sentiment. “Once we hit a certain size we were able to add some amazing talent, and we now have this ability to take on very complex challenges. We’re selling things that I barely even understand sometimes. So, for me, it’s the fact that we can reach well beyond what I could ever imagine with our client services.” 

No matter who we asked, RevGen’s people came up time and again. 

“I prefer to think of RevGen as ‘concentrated’ and ‘mighty’, not small,” Robert jokes. “The impact we have is disproportionate to our size. It’s a testament to the power of high-performing and highly committed people.”

 

 

Impact, too, was a theme for each of the founders. 

“In what was probably our first or second year, we held a company picnic at a park,” Jason starts. “The parking is on a hill, and you walk down to the park and the pavilions. I had to come late from a client meeting. At the time we only had maybe 15 or 20 employees. 

“As I walked down, I saw our employees, their families, their kids, and I was like, holy cow, this is a lot. And that was just 20 people. I never anticipated the level of impact we would have as an employer and as a responsible organization within the community. It’s much bigger than people just doing work.” 

For them, it was important that impact meant more than just a paycheck.  

“A key tenet that has been a meaningful part of our fabric from day one has been ‘doing the right thing, every time, no matter what’,” says Michael. “We decided that really early on. And that goes for decisions big and small. That relates to our employees, our clients, our community. It’s about a culture of integrity.” 

 

[Read More: Crafting Culture – An Interview with Emily Sims]

 

Kirk agrees. “I’m proud of the impact we’ve had. When I look at it, that’s the brand we’ve built. It’s our community service. It’s the number of people joining our alumni group and that are still very active within the RevGen community. It’s the people that have come to me and said, whether they work for us or have moved on, ‘what RevGen did for me is substantial, in my career. In my life.’ 

“It’s the impact we’ve had on individuals, the impacts we’ve had on our community, and the impacts we’ve had on our clients.” 

“Client stewardship,” Robert adds, “has always been important to us. The what and how of our services and delivery has changed a lot over the years, but our why of truly focusing on our clients’ success has not. Clients felt this 15 years ago and still feel the difference today.” 

That focus on broader impact is the reason RevGen Partners came to be. 

“When we first started RevGen,” Kirk begins, “someone asked me ‘what do you really want out of this? Why do this when you, Michael, and Jason, are all secure in your jobs?’ The one thing that I came back to was that I wanted to start a company that I want to work for. I want to be part of a group that has a higher focus on empowering people.”  

He takes a moment to gather his final thoughts. “At the end of the day, I want the world to be better because of the organization that I helped build. I wanted those stakeholders, whether they were employees, clients, or our community, to be better off because RevGen existed.”