Rock Solid Technologies

that so much easier. We can compete in places like Mississauga, Ontario and have never been there. But we have great products, great references, and we get on Zoom or Microsoft Teams and talk to customers and they can see what we offer without having to meet in person. That is especially important now during the coronavirus pandemic. “Our main focus is GovTech; a lot of software for public sector institutions such as cities, counties, state agencies, national governments. We also build software for distribution companies because that’s a lot of what happens in the Caribbean. One of our largest customers is Sol Petroleum in Barbados. They buy petroleum- based products and they sell gasoline, lubricants, jet fuel. We look after all their issues with software. We also have gasoline distributors, car distributors, and pharmaceutical product distributors as customers. Distribution is a nice portion of our business but our main focus is heavily into GovTech.” BVC: Is it difficult to find and retain skilled workers? Perez: “Over 85 percent of our people are hired right out of college and we’ve done that for over 20 years. When I joined the company, I was the sixth person. Three months later, I hired five engineers from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez. That school was founded in 1911 and is the best producer of engineering talent by far on the island. Out of those original hires, we still have four. A lot of the training we do is on the buddy system. You work with someone, almost like an apprenticeship where you learn by doing with a mentor. Someone coaching and pointing you in the right direction to look for information, not telling you how to do it or fixing it for you. But for that to work, you have to hire really smart, talented people. “We hire the best engineers on the island from the best engineering school, we pay them well, make sure that they feel taken care of, and we Vice President, Angel L. Perez