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NAME OF CLIENT’S COMPANY:  Missing Link Security      

OWNER:  Angela Norman

ADDRESS/TELEPHONE NUMBER:  

13241 Woodland Park Road Suite 500
Herndon, VA 20171

(703) 299-9390

EMAIL:  Angela.Norman@mls-va.com

WEB SITE:  http://www.missinglinksecurity.com/

NAME OF MENTOR(S):  Karen Williams, Gary Salisbury, and Hal Shelton (Malcolm Slovin and Alexandra Marino also participated as co-mentors)

SUMMARY OF THE CLIENT’S COMPANY:

Missing Link Security (MLS) provides information technology security support to government and private industry.  They are ISO 9001:2015 certified and follow these processes to successfully manage projects spanning information security compliance, security program support, training and security operations. They specialize in providing tailored security solutions for our customers' unique missions.  MLS specializes in providing Information Assurance (IA), Cyber Policy Support, Information System Security Officers (ISSOs), Risk Management Framework (RMF) implementation as well as complementary professional staffing services.  In June 2018 B3 Group, Inc. announced that the company and Missing Link Security entered into a Small Business Administration (SBA) approved Mentor/Protégé Agreement, with B3 Group serving as the mentor and MLS as the Protégé

MISSING LINK SECURITY CLIENTS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

DESCRIBE PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES:

HOW DID SCORE HELP THE CLIENT?

From Angela: “I joined SCORE in January of 2018, desperate for guidance on how to save MLS, which was a rapidly sinking ship.  Gary Salisbury listened patiently to me and suggested I should also talk with Hal Shelton and also suggested that, based on our cybersecurity-focused background, I may have good success with Karen as my mentor.  Karen has been a great fit. She is consummately patient to the extent with which I could prattle on about the chaos we were ensconced in last year.  She has provided solid guidance and wisdom where and when I’ve needed it most.  With her tutelage, I was able to navigate an efficient investment/merger confidently and far more competently than I would have been able to on my own.  She has provided firm suggestions, positive guidance, and a sage ear to reflect all the trials and tribulations we have undergone.  Working with Karen for almost a year and a half has often brought me comfort in better knowing that I was making sound decisions and I can’t imagine how much more difficult this transition would have been without having her support.  This support has also allowed us to successfully win new work in several different arenas.  In fact, we won 60% of the work we bid on over the past year and a half.” 

WHAT HAS CLIENT ACHIEVED TO DESERVE THIS AWARD?

MLS was able to stave off having to file for bankruptcy and lose all our contracts.  Instead, we found a valued investor/mentor that has provided the required financial stability we needed.  Once we obtained that stability we were able to focus on winning new work and were also able to increase our profit margins to near 10%, where previously that had been closer to 3%.  We have won 5 new contracts, NAVSEA and DHS S&T PIADIC with Booz Allen Hamilton, TAOSS with CACI, NARA (a Prime contract with XLA), and both the DCO Eagle Shield SDVOSB Vehicle and the Full and Open Vehicle.  The Eagle Shield Vehicle puts us in the same arena as Booz Allen Hamilton, GDIT, Parsons, and McCauley Brown and will allow MLS to position itself successfully to graduate Small Business status in the next 10 years.  Additionally, we went from doing $1.5 million in 2015 to doing an estimated $8 million in 2019.