Peter Quintas | SOMA Global

April 13, 2021 What I Found

What Is SOMA Global?

SOMA is a provider of modern solutions for Public Safety Agencies, Law Enforcement and First Responders. We have a primary using technology to help save more lives and protect our responders. We have applications for Dispatch, Records Management, Jail Management and Data Interoperability all delivered in a Cloud-Native environment as a Service.

What Is Your Background? Tell Us About Your Journey To Starting A Company And How You Ended Up In This Space.

I am an Engineer at heart. I love building new products and companies from the ground up. I was part of a small group that acquired a “legacy” public safety company 15 years ago. I kept close to the space and ended up coming back to it because of a lack of technology innovation and the market condition of consolidation of vendors that had left our Agencies, Law Enforcement and First Responders underserved.

What Have Been Both Your Favorite And Least-liked Parts Of Your Entrepreneurial Journey? What Have Been Your Most Challenging And Most Exciting Moments For You And The Company?

My favorite part of this particular journey has been serving our Law Enforcement and First Responders. We build mission critical applications to help them in their mission critical jobs and this is very personally rewarding. The least-liked part of the total entrepreneurial experience is the toll it takes on my family. They are dragged through the risk and lose me as a husband and father at times, due to the time commitment.

The most exciting moments have been watching the growth of our SOMA team. We have the most experienced, committed and thoughtful team members in the entire industry. The most challenging parts were early on, the realization that what we do is so mission critical, that our mistakes can cost lives. Luckily we have a solid track record where that stress is mitigated on our record and with the great team we have.

Who Are Your Co-Founders Or People Who You Work Very Closely With? How Do Their Skills Supplement Yours?

I met my cofounder Nick Stohlman 15 years ago when I first had exposure to this industry. We began friends quickly and today, he is one of my best friends. We complement each other very well in that I have the technology and startup background, where he is ex-law enforcement.

What Was The Fundraising Process Like For You? Tell Us About Your Investors And What You Use The Money You’ve Raised For.

The fundraising process was not a “process” for us. We started the company without the desire to raise capital. We focused on our team, our product and our customers in a sprint to profitability. We didn’t want the company focus to be fundraising (which is a vicious cycle a young company can get into). I casually met Will and Drew Weatherford at a dinner a year ago and felt like their own family-run business was a natural fit culturally for SOMA and our business. We knew that we had a small growth team and could accelerate growth by investing more in sales and marketing. All of our working capital being invested in rounding out our team, especially our footprint in sales and marketing.

Can You Tell Us About Some Of Your Numbers? How Has Growth Been Over The Past Couple Of Years?

Founded in 2017 and ended 2017 with just 2 employees. Ended 2018 with 5 employees. Ended 2019 with 12 employees. Ended 2020 with 25 employees (and our first profitable year). We are at 50 employees today, April 5th 2021.

Tell Us About Some Of The Industry Associations And Technology Companies You Partner With And How You Work Together On This Mission.

There are many innovative partnerships we are developing in this space. It’s exciting. The one partnership that has been most beneficial (by far) to date has been our partnership with Amazon (AWS). AWS is our cloud partner and has been a solid supporter of our growth since day one. They regularly promote our services to potential opportunities, they are deeply invested in our business and technical success. I feel like they have become an augmented part of our team. It’s amazing as small as our company is to be able to stand on shoulders as big as Amazon’s.

What Was The Inspiration Behind The Company Name?

We started SOMA building a cloud-based, indoor gunshot detection device called SOMA Shield and pivoted quickly to the Public Safety Platform we have today. The name stuck. The meaning is still relevant in the Greek translation. We protect bodies, we protect lives...

Noun

σῶμα • (sôma)

Body (both that of people and animals)
One's life in the physical world
That which is material (as opposed to spiritual)
Person
An entire thing

What Are Your Daily Routines? Walk Us Through Your Typical Workday Schedule.

My typical workday has recently changed with the investment and growth of our team. Where I was prior in the weeds, even building code regularly, my focus now is building our team, our partners and culture.

I typically wake around 6:30ish when my 1 year old wakes and I spend the next hour with him and my other 2 children (7 and 9 years old) getting ready for school. I usually drive them to school then start my day after that at 8am. I’ve been normally working from home, but am starting to get back into the office 2 to 3 days a week (about a 30 minute commute to downtown Tampa). I typically start the day in my email and Slack, with items that I’ve snoozed to the morning and spend the time responding to them. My mornings are usually when I have scheduled 1-on-1 with my team members. I try to “theme” my days around administrative, growth, ops and engineering. I try to get a noon workout 3-4 times a week for an hour, usually alternating weight training, HIIT and JiuJitsu. My afternoon is usually spent on specific tasks around my day’s theme, usually in meetings with my team, our agencies, or our partners. I still try to write an occasional line of code also. My 7 and 9 year olds train JiuJitsu at 5:15PM 2-3 times a week and I usually take them to that. We normally sit down for dinner as a family after that at 6:30pm and wind the kids down for bed at 8-8:30pm. The latter part of the evening is spent with my wife, sometimes watching a movie and sometimes working on a project with her. She now works for SOMA part-time so I get to share some of that time with her!

I’m very grateful for the success of SOMA today and to be able to normalize my schedule and lifestyle over the past few years in a healthy balance.

What Are The Top Three Qualities or Skills You Believe Entrepreneurs Need In Order To Be Successful? Also, What Advice Do You Have For Entrepreneurs Who Are Just Starting Out?

Tenacity - You are GONNA fail. You have to have the tenacity to learn from those failures and apply to the next project or endeavor.
Hard Work - It DOESN’T come easy. I have spent long stressful hours and am always willing to go the extra mile for one of our team members or one of our agencies.
Kindness - In the long game, kindness ALWAYS wins. I want to build a legacy of success in the company and our team members that is rooted in kindness, mutual respect, trust and meaningful work.

These are all qualities, NOT skills. I have this theme throughout our recruiting also. Alignment of qualities of an individual (which is roughly representative of their principles and values) builds strong teams - skills can be learned and taught. My advice would be to always surround yourself with a like-minded, strong team.

Tell Us A Story Of Something That Happened To You, Something You Heard, Or Something You Saw, That Either Made You Laugh Or Taught You An Important Lesson.

Some of the best lessons have been learned from negative experiences. I've had a few great mentors in my life, but some of the best lessons have been learned from the “anti-mentor”. I’ve observed the actions and behavior of others in my career making mental notes like “That is something I NEVER want to do”.

If You Can Have A One-Hour Meeting With Someone Famous Who Is Alive, Who Would It Be And Why?

Hands down Elon Musk. He is a once-in-a-century individual that combines brilliance, with tenacity, with risk-taking and good-old-fashioned hard work. It’s not often that an individual tries to change the world in the several projects that Elon has undertaken - and he’s doing it simultaneously, having risked everything.

Who Is Your Role Model?

Hands down my Dad. He taught me tenacity. He taught me hard work. He taught me kindness.

What Do You Do In Your Free Time?

Family!

Any Thoughts on Current Events?

I know it’s been a theme in my answers here… but KINDNESS! There is just a general sense of hate and anger across current events and political climate. I wish people would approach the world with just a little more positivity.

What Does Success Mean To You?

Building something I can point to. Building meaningful relationships. I love the Einstein quote “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”. I believe I’m doing that with our mission at SOMA and I’ve always had that mantra in my personal relationships.