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Entreprenurial streak runs deep
Humble college beginnings evolve into IT success for Artemis

By Anne Straub
Brevard Technical Journal

D. Travis Proctor, President of Artemis International Technologies, Inc., co-founded the information technology company during his sophomore year at Florida Institute of Technology. Photo by Craig Rubadoux, © 2003.

D. Travis Proctor can’t stop thinking business, even when he’s planning a vacation.

The Melbourne businessman and five high school buddies have an annual tradition of getting together with their families for a vacation. About four years ago, Proctor suggested each pitch in a set amount to a joint account to finance the gatherings.

The fund started growing more quickly than was needed to pay for everyone’s trips, so the group of friends became, in part, an investment club. “Lately we’ve been discussing how much money we’ve been losing,” Proctor said with a laugh.

The entrepreneurial streak runs deep in Proctor, president and co-founder of information technology company Artemis International Technologies Inc. The 27-year-old started that company during his sophomore year at Florida Institute of Technology, a time when most students have their hands full with course work.

He and another student sold computers, offered troubleshooting for mom and pop businesses and did some networking for Florida Tech. They grew the company slowly with the idea that they’d have something already started after they finished their degrees.

Since graduation, the business has expanded to offer networking, e-business services, telephony and cabling and security solutions. Proctor bought out his former partner, and heads the 22-employee firm.

Despite its president’s youth, Artemis is not Proctor’s first company.

Proctor grew up in Colorado, where his father is a mail carrier and his mother works as a bookkeeper. He had just shelled out $500 for his first car when the job he had lined up fell through. To cover insurance and other expenses, Proctor started repairing computers in a garage he rented from a family friend.

Lab technician Todd Hoover, left, and Jason Daniels, right, an IT technician install a new PC processor. Photo by Craig Rubadoux, © 2003.

During the last two years of high school, business grew too much for one person, so Proctor took on a partner.

Customers included people with home computers, small business, and eventually, the school district. Proctor wrote software for faculty-staff surveys and had a support contract on the system that ran the district’s report cards.

“I graduated valedictorian, but there’s no connection,” he joked.

Proctor headed to Florida Tech because of the university’s computer science program, scholarships and its proximity to Kennedy Space Center, an area he thought he might pursue as a career.

After trying to help manage the Colorado business long-distance for a while, he sold his interest to his friend. The experience whetted his appetite for the business world and helped him realize the red tape of government-related space work would frustrate him.

“It almost gives you a minor in business,” he said of running the company.

Proctor attributes much of his drive to his upbringing. Before moving to Montrose, Colo., when he was 12, the family lived in Paradox, population 80. They were ranchers in the agricultural community, and Proctor learned to see working hard as a way of life, he said.

At Florida Tech, Proctor set up the first computer network and email server for what was then the department of auxiliary services, and served as student body president for two years. “All the while he was running his own company and he graduated summa cum laud,” said Brian Dailey, assistant vice president of student affairs.

“That is a rare individual. And he did all that with a wonderful personality and enthusiasm,” said Dailey, who worked with Proctor as student government adviser and as supervisor of auxiliary services.

Dailey points to a combination of organizational and people skills in Proctor. “He has a tremendous grasp of detail, organization and time management. He had an ability to plan ahead,” Dailey said. He then was comfortable communicating his goals to anybody. “It didn’t make any difference whether he was talking to students, janitors, deans or faculty.”

During college, Proctor ran the business out of his living room with fellow student Richard Richardson. They kept a roster of part-time employees they’d call when they had work.

After graduation, they moved to the 1900 Building in Downtown Melbourne and relocated to Aurora Road at the end of 1998. One early customer was Joyal Construction, which got the company’s name through contacts at Florida Tech.

“I’m not even sure if they had graduated – they were that young,” said Bob Wille, vice president of the Melbourne builder.

Artemis set up the business’s computer system and suggested ways for Joyal to communicate and structure itself better. Artemis continues to consult for the business.

“We can do more with less” because of the company’s input, Wille said.

Artemis grew quickly until the economic slowdown hit.

It finished 2001 with a loss because of heavy write-offs of credit extended to customers who went bankrupt. “The economy threw a curve ball at us, and we figured as long as we survived that we’d be in a good position,” Proctor said.

The company reduced payroll by six positions, including three layoffs, and the staff agreed to forgo raises. Artemis returned to profitability in 2002 and now is on track for its best year, Proctor said. The company does not release sales figures.

He credits the company’s board with guiding Artemis toward manageable growth. Its customers were the first advisory team, and Artemis since has added other experienced business people.

The company now markets itself as a one-stop information technology resource. “We can provide a mid-size business with access to the tools of an information technology resource,” Proctor said. Companies that want to avoid the expense of maintaining an IT department can contract for services from Artemis.

Looking ahead, Proctor plans to add branch offices throughout Central Florida, with Melbourne remaining as corporate headquarters. The satellite locations will increase the company’s ability to respond to customers in other cities, he said.

For more information, see www.artemisit.com.