From State Grant to Job Creation to Business Growth, Corporate Armor Flourishes In and With the City of Newton, North Carolina

NEWTON, N.C., July 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Temprano Techvestors announced today that it has completed the program requirements for the Rural Building Reuse grant it was awarded in August 2016, and its flagship customer-facing company and brand, Corporate Armor, is now calling it home.

The grant, which totaled up to $253,750 toward a total renovation investment of $520,000, was awarded to help the company choose Newton as its home by renovating an outdated office building into a state-of-the-art facility to support high-tech sales, marketing, support and engineering jobs.

"Temprano Techvestors is one of the companies leading the charge toward a bright future in Newton, and we are fortunate to have them as our partner," said Newton Mayor Anne P. Jordan.

"Their investments in Newton are creating the technology workforce that will be so important to our community in the coming years. I thank Luke Walling and Temprano Techvestors for supporting Newton and choosing to grow their business here," she continued.

Grants like these are awarded by the State of North Carolina to re-develop vacant buildings into assets that attract new or expanding businesses.  The program provides grants to local governments such as the City of Newton for the renovation, expansion or construction of vacant, rundown or new buildings, all of which leads to the creation of new jobs.

"The Building Reuse Grant Program continues to attract new companies to North Carolina," said Secretary of Commerce Anthony M. Copeland. "This economic development tool is helping Newton lay a foundation for technology companies like Temprano Techvestors to grow and succeed across the state."

Since the grant was awarded, the company has grown from zero to 20 full-time employees in a broad range of roles from software engineering to web development and high-tech sales to senior finance.  The team will continue to grow through marketing and sales activities, as well as through acceleration gained through acquisitions as they drive toward their five-year goal to reach $50m in total revenue.

"Our team has executed superbly against the plan we supplied to the North Carolina Department of Commerce," said company owner and longtime Catawba County entrepreneur, Luke Walling.  "We've gone from zero dollars in sales to eight figures in revenue right on target with that same plan." 

"In addition to acquiring and optimizing three high-tech security and infrastructure supply channel businesses, we've partnered to bring great technology brands from Europe to market here through that same growing sales channel.  Even better, we are creating jobs in our community and our success has enabled us to give back to regional and national education and entrepreneurship initiatives that matter," he continued.

Walling realizes how critical grants and incentives are to early- and growth-stage companies.  Since the founding of this newest venture, he enjoys sharing knowledge and promoting the value startups bring to communities, particularly in rural communities.  He leverages the resources generated by the business to directly give back to the community that has supported his endeavors over the past 25 years, especially in the areas of education, entrepreneurship, and the arts.  The company provides support—not only financially—but also in their time to help ensure success.  Since the company's founding, they have given back well into six figures of funding to support initiatives that move the community forward.

Corporate Armor couldn't be philanthropic without measurable success and growth.  When the grant was awarded, the company had zero revenue.  In 2018, sales grew to $7.1m, and now, the company is poised to surpass that number by the end of July 2019.  This growth is significant as startups and early-stage businesses are important catalysts for new jobs in the state, especially in smaller markets like Newton.

Corporate Armor has plans to continue growing in the near term by acquiring more national software and hardware resale businesses and adding them to the Newton operation under the Corporate Armor umbrella.  To learn more about Corporate Armor, visit corporatearmor.com.

About Temprano Techvestors
Temprano Techvestors was formed by Luke Walling, a long-time serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and corporate executive known for building high-growth B2B software businesses.  Our team is comprised of a group of SaaS and electronically-distributed software experts who have worked with and for some of the biggest names in the industry.  Temprano Techvestors dedicates its expertise to acquiring, consolidating, optimizing and growing information technology companies, leveraging them to bring emerging-market B2B software products to market in North America. They invest in their partners and businesses with expertise, outsourcing, strategic partnerships and capital.  To learn more, visit temprano.com.

SOURCE Temprano Techvestors