August 19, 2020
In January, we visited one of our portfolio companies, North End Teleservices, to see how it is making an impact in its community. In this first installment of our two-part series, you’ll hear how Carmen’s people-centered business model is making a major impact in her business and community.
Carmen Tapio, founder and CEO of Omaha-based North End Teleservices, is a long-time veteran of the teleservices business—from her time on the floor making sales calls, to being a consultant to the industry, she has a wealth of experience in the field. In 2015, the Omaha Economic Development Corporation approached Carmen about opening a teleservices center in an effort to create jobs in North Omaha—a highly distressed community with unemployment in the double digits. Over time, Carmen’s vision and mission for the company expanded from just job creation to also changing lives. So, when she saw an opportunity to purchase the company, she knew she had the chance to make that vision a reality.
North End Teleservices started out as a non-profit, which created unique barriers for Carmen to secure the capital she needed to buy out the company and become its sole owner. In the beginning, Tapio had trouble securing a traditional bank loan because the company didn’t have what you might typically find on a balance sheet. But what it did have was opportunity to grow. In 2017, Carmen was able to secure funding through the federal New Markets Tax Credit program, enabling her to purchase North End Teleservices and begin its momentous expansion.
In just three years, Carmen has expanded her team from 30 to 163, and she has plans in the works to grow the team to upwards of 50 over the next year. But the story here isn’t just in the impressive business expansion Carmen was able to facilitate. It’s in the exceptional impact her vision of changing lives by creating good, quality jobs, along with her people-centered business model, is having on the surrounding community.
Want to learn more about how NMTC investments are making a positive impact in communities across the country?
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