8-koi Founder Inga Young: 13 Things I’ve Learned About Business

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President Inga I. Young founded 8-koi on August 8, 2008. The number 8 represents the cyclic nature of systems. The koi fish represents embracing adversity through persistent focus on positive outcomes. Inga built the company to be different – to do better than others, and to offer an easier and more efficient option to the government. With her decades-long background in DCAA-compliant contract accounting, Inga’s astute knowledge of finance allows her to perform more cost-effectively across multiple disciplines with consistent quality-driven results. Since startup, 8-koi has increased its revenue every year and employs an effective team of highly qualified personnel around the globe.

This year, 8-koi celebrates its 13th Anniversary and Inga has learned some things along the way. Read on to find out more about her reflections on her entrepreneurial journey…

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8-koi Exhibits at Navy Contracting Summit June 24-25

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8-koi is a virtual exhibitor at the Southwest Defense Contracting Summit June 24-25, 2021. We are joining hundreds of prime contractors, subcontractors, military officials, contracting officials, financing experts, and defense agencies from throughout the country at this year’s Navy Contracting Summit with Defense Leadership Forums.

Sign-up for our quarterly newsletter before June 30th to be entered in a random drawing for a $100 cash card. Join at 8-koi.com.

We stand ready to partner in capturing a portion of the new Pentagon and Navy contracts resulting from the $740 Billion 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. Our design engineering and construction capabilities include post-catastrophe response, BIM modeling, energy simulations, underground, infrastructure, safety planning, communications, and logistics.
Not limited to buildings and infrastructure, 8-koi contributes to developing public health resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic with healthcare-related capabilities to include direct care, medical supplies (PPE), logistics, training, administration, and contract support services.
Be sure to visit our virtual booth at the Summit and we look forward to connecting with you on LinkedIn!

8-koi Selected for Marine Corps Program Manager, Training Systems Contract

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8-koi received a Single Award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract to provide acquisition related contracting support services to the US Marine Corps Program Manager, Training Systems (PM TRASYS, PMM-130) in Orlando, FL.

PM TRASYS is responsible for the total life cycle support of USMC ground training systems. This service contract will provide contracting support services to assist PM TRASYS in providing highly immersive training environments that hone Marines cognitive decision making while rehearsing critical technical and tactical skills.

“We are thrilled to provide support to the Marine Corps with Senior Acquisition Specialists who are Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certified. Our contracting experts intend to jump right in and integrate seamlessly with the USMC team in Central Florida,” said 8-koi Chief Operating Officer Dean Rosenquist.

8-koi’s acquisition specialists will embed with the PM TRASYS office to support US Marine Corps training requirements that rely on a complex portfolio of training systems that support USMC ground synthetic and live training systems.

In the past, 8-koi has performed on similar contracts with the US Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) by providing Tactical Combat Casualty Care training programs, and has also provided administrative and acquisition related support services to help improve readiness with the US Navy Sea Warrior Program (PMW 240). See more about 8-koi Technical and Administrative capabilities.

8-koi Supports STEM Scholarships and Women In Defense on the Space Coast

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With help from dedicated volunteers like 8-koi’s Project Coordinator Sheena Heitzman, Women In Defense Space Coast (WIDSC) raised $8,500 in STEM scholarships at the 4th Annual Space Coast STEM Sandbagger Invitational Golf Tournament on May 7th. The sold-out event was held at the beautiful Baytree National Golf Course in Melbourne and the 8-koi ‘A-Team’ foursome joined Sheena on the greens for some good-hearted fun in the sun.

(L to R): Michael White, Les Daniels, Sami Mized and Trevor Baumann.

Putting on a golf tournament is no easy task. Sheena, who is also the treasurer of SCWID’s board, arrived in the early morning hours with other volunteers to setup and greet golfers coming out to support STEM scholarships for local students.

SCWID volunteers and golfers greet the day to raise money for STEM scholarships.

The Women in Defense Space Coast Chapter is one of 8-koi’s sponsored community organizations. Giving back to support education and women pursuing careers in national defense is very important to our company. 8-koi President Inga Young serves as vice president of the SCWID board and 8-koi was named the 2019 SCWID STEM Business Innovator of the Year.

Eyes on target
Teamwork

With our team working together and keeping their eyes on the target, twelve deserving Space Coast women will be presented with scholarships at the STEM Scholarship and Innovator Awards Presentation on Wednesday, June 23rd at the Courtyard by Marriott in Cocoa Beach with featured speaker Elaine Larsen of Larsen Motorsports.

8-koi Wins Army Corps Three-Year Renovation, Repair Contract

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8-koi is one of six competitively selected Woman Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) to win the Army Corps of Engineers’ Horizontal Construction, Renovation, Repair, and Incidental Design Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for a three-year period of performance with work taking place in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Georgia.

The general construction contract requires 8-koi to provide supervisory, technical, and administrative staff to include field superintendents, quality control managers, architects, engineers, interior designers, clerks, and project managers, among others. 8-koi maintains a General Contractors license in the state of Florida and has provided design-build services to government clients since 2016.

Task orders for engineering-design and construction projects may include new construction and/or rehabilitation of facilities and structures such as project management offices or shop buildings, storage facilities, campsites, bath houses, picnic sites, playgrounds, picnic shelters, courtesy docks, boat storage, etc. to include power, paving, and roofing in the Army Corps’ Mobile District.

“This is our first contract with the Army Corps and our team is looking forward to supporting this agency with improvements to public use areas in the Southeast region,” said 8-koi President Inga Young.

8-koi Construction Division Vice President Otto Herrera says, “It’s always exciting to start work with a new customer to learn their preferences, adopt their standards, and develop the relationship over time to meet their needs.”

In March 2019, 8-koi acquired Cape Design Engineering Co. (CDE) to expand its WOSB design engineering and mil-spec construction capabilities. The company is headquartered in Merritt Island, Florida and has completed projects for the US Navy in Jacksonville and in Kings Bay, Georgia, among others. 8-koi currently employs 130 people to support its construction and design engineering divisions.

8-koi Exhibits at Southwest Defense Contracting Summit April 6-7

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8-koi is a virtual exhibitor at the Southwest Defense Contracting Summit April 6-7, 2021. We are joining hundreds of prime contractors, subcontractors, military officials, contracting officials, financing experts, and defense agencies from throughout the country at this year’s Southwest Defense Contracting Summit with Defense Leadership Forums.

All new followers between March 30th and April 16th will be entered in a random drawing for a $100 cash card. Follow 8-koi on LinkedIn!

Because so many installations were affected by extreme weather events earlier this year, a major general session on energy resiliency will be included in this year’s summit program. Our design engineering and construction capabilities include post-catastrophe response, BIM modeling, energy simulations, underground, infrastructure, safety planning, communications, and logistics.
Not limited to buildings and infrastructure, 8-koi contributes to developing public health resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic with healthcare-related capabilities to include direct care, medical supplies (PPE), logistics, training, administration, and contract support services.
Be sure to visit our virtual booth at the Summit and we look forward to connecting with you on LinkedIn!

8-koi Helps to Close Pandemic Supply Gaps with PPE Donations Across US

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With supply shortages affecting organizations of all sizes during the global coronavirus pandemic, 8-koi is working to protect critical community operations with KN-95 mask donations to fire departments, schools, and non-profit organizations serving the most at-risk.  

Over the past six months, 8-koi has delivered thousands of masks to students, teachers, first responders, and community servants in several communities around the company’s home state and in rural New Mexico. 

Last summer, when COVID-19 cases were inundating the Navajo Nation, our company sent a supply of masks to Cuba Fire Rescue to help protect the handful of dedicated volunteers answering emergency calls in several remote tribal communities on the borders of New Mexico’s designated tribal lands. 

In August 2020, 8-koi donated a supply of PPE to Cuba Fire Rescue in rural New Mexico in response to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting communities in the Eastern Navajo Nation

More masks were sent in January to the Sandoval County Senior Center in Cuba, NM, and to the Jemez Mountain Public Schools in Gallina, NM, where front line staff remained committed to supporting members of the indigenous population by delivering food and necessities to homebound elders and instructional materials and basic routine healthcare to isolated students in rural areas. 

Closer to home and most recently in Florida, 8-koi’s Vice President of Design Engineering, Victor Diaz, personally delivered KN-95 masks in February to the Dean of Academic Affairs and Health Science’s Edward Willey at Palm Beach State College to ensure practical training could continue safely for the faculty and students of the school’s acclaimed nursing program. 

On February 5, 2021, Victor Diaz Vice President of  8-koi’s Design Engineering Division delivered the supply of 1,000 KN-95 masks to the Dean of Academic Affairs and Health Sciences Edward Willey 

Also in February, 8-koi President, Inga Young, and Chief Operating Officer, Dean Rosenquist (USAF ret.), hand-delivered masks to JROTC and Athletics students at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School, and to the Volunteers of America and Down the Road Thrift non-profit organizations in Cocoa that both provide veterans outreach services to include housing, employment, and basic needs. 

On February 10, 2021, 8-koi donated 1,000 KN-95 masks to Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High School. The donation was accepted by the JROTC 3rd period class led by LTC (R) James M. DesJardin. Pictured from 8-koi are President Inga Young and COO Dean Rosenquist.

John Welch, Property Manager at Veterans of America and US Air Force retiree, said the KN-95 masks “protect much better than anything else and would allow staff and veterans to get tasks done safely.” 

On February 10, 2021, 8-koi donated 1,000 KN-95 masks to the Volunteers of America in Cocoa, FL where there are 80 Veterans residing and 15 staffers working. Pictured with 8-koi President Inga Young and COO Dean Rosenquist is John Welch, VOA Property Manager.

“It is really important to me that our company give back in a meaningful way with tangible outcomes,” said Young. “We have been providing healthcare support services to our government clients on contract for a number of years and I believe that experience prepared us for this kind of critical response where it matters most.” 

8-koi donated 200 KN-95 masks to Down the Road Thrift (Cocoa, FL) on February 10, 2021. Pictured with 8-koi President Inga Young and COO Dean Rosenquist is DTR Founder Jerry Vaughn. 

8-koi’s personnel have conducted advanced emergency medical training at Fort Detrick, MD, on contract since 2014 and were activated in 2020 to take temperatures for patients at overcrowded healthcare facilities in New York City. 8-koi’s contracted staff typically working directly with military and civilian patients at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, TX, were temporarily transitioned to assist Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) with notifying patients of their negative COVID-19 test results during the peak of the pandemic. 

The small company with just under 50 employees diversified into medical supplies and Personal Protective Equipment early in 2020 for their existing customers with no expectations for the skyrocketing demand realized from new customers reeling from the public health crisis. 8-koi’s well-established Healthcare Division, previously focused on staffing and construction services at federal medical treatment facilities like clinics at Patrick Space Force Base and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, now supplies the Indian Health Service within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for provisioning comprehensive health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives in Hawaii and Oklahoma. 

“We had to learn a lot in the beginning, but we are so fortunate to have these supplies on hand and fill a need when so many lives are at stake. These donations exemplify our company’s core values of being thoughtful and dependable and represent the ‘human touch’ our team strives to deliver in service excellence every day – even at a safe distance.” says Young.  

Read the press coverage in Hometown News.

See more about 8-koi’s COVID-19 Response.