Where Did Valicom Start?

Where did my entrepreneurial journey begin? I would say, from the day I was born. 

My mother was a huge inspiration of mine growing up. She began the Mary Linsmeier daycares and preschools, during the late 1960s, when it was almost unheard of for women to be in the workforce, let alone owning a business. 

Watching my mother manage several childcare businesses, in addition to raising eight children, taught me what a strong woman looked like. This came in handy when I later entered the male-dominated industry of telecommunications as a business owner in the early 1990s. 

I never thought I would be an entrepreneur. Especially owning a business in technology. Before I decided to completely pivot my life to start the business I own today, I was working as a sales manager for a company called MidAmerican Communications, a long-distance carrier.

The History of Telecom

The telecommunications industry was at a pivotal point in history when I became involved as a young professional after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Divestiture had just begun—the breakup of the Bell System which was mandated in 1982 by an agreed consent decree providing that AT&T would relinquish control of the Bell Operating Companies that had provided local telephone service in the United States and Canada up until that point. This provided an opportunity for other companies to enter the field and provide long distance services in competition with AT&T.

Leveling the Telecom Playing Field

How did divestiture affect customers in the marketplace? Equal access (1+ dialing) to alternative carriers was not available at the beginning so customers had to dial a long access number and code to make a long-distance call. Larger users had to install dialers on their phone systems to automate the process. Alternative long-distance companies were having difficulty implementing new switches, troubleshooting problems with dialers and setting up accurate billing systems. 

Customers were having quality issues, billing issues, and cost-savings issues.  I began to hear variations of the following comment,“…if only there was a consultant who could help me through this maze of confusion without being tied to a specific vendor.”

Before starting my business, I decided to formulate a survey that I sent to my customers which confirmed an overwhelming desire for vendor independent telecom consulting.

I knew meeting the needs of those I was serving through MidAmerican was the answer to leveling the telecom playing field, which became the why of my new business endeavor.

Feet first

I dove right into this new mission, in the spare bedroom of the first house my husband and I shared. We started out providing carrier cost and quality comparisons and within a few years we added billing audits for even greater savings. In the mid 90’s, we added mobile expenses to the mix as companies began providing cell phones for their employees to use in the field. We developed our first-generation technology called InView and added bill payment services for clients in the late 90s. Today, our 3rd generation SaaS platform called Clearview provides all the tools to manage every aspect of an organization’s telecom spend. This includes a fine-tuned telecom invoice processing system, over 60 stock reports to give you a deeper understanding of how your budget is being spent, wireless and wireline resource optimization, inventory management and more.    

In 1991, I started my business under the name Intelligent Networks which was a buzzword at the time for the rapidly developing voice, data and internet industries that were in their infancy at that time. After a few years, we became known as INI to our clients and, as we moved into serving large multi-national companies, we changed our name to INI Global. 

For Mother’s Day one year, my two kids (Britt and Riley) bought me a custom license plate: “INI” which I attached to my Audi convertible at the time. One day, as I was driving down the road with my top down, the guy behind me yelled, “hey, you have an INI (inny) on your Audi!” We’ve had years of laughter from that comment.  A few years ago, we renamed the company Valicom to represent all the great value we bring to clients on their telecom and technology expenses. 

Continuing My Story

This is only the beginning of my Founder’s Story. I will be posting every Tuesday for the next month to uncover some of my best and worst moments of my journey. Every moment presents a lesson and for every lesson is an opportunity. Here are some of the questions I will answer in this Founder’s Series.

Why Valicom?

The foundational purpose, cause or belief (our why?) in which Valicom was started was based on the customer confusion in the marketplace and the difficulty experienced by alternative telecom providers to fairly compete.

What was it like starting a business in a male dominated field?

Overcoming challenges associated with a male-dominated industry came with many hurdles. It was difficult to gain respect as a successful woman business owner in the field of information technology. I made it with lessons from my mother growing up.

How did Valicom’s technology evolve?

When I started the business in 1991, my office tools consisted of an Intel 10286 computer which was a second-generation home computer. I used spreadsheets extensively to perform long distance vendor cost comparisons.

What’s next for Valicom?

Valicom prides itself in the unprecedented attention to detail our TEM experts provide, a team that cares deeply about the clients they serve, who are able to adapt to rapidly evolving technology environments.

If you like what you’ve read so far, check out our resource page for more information about Valicom and answers about some of the most frequently asked information technology questions.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly, we are only a phone call or email away. Contact us at 800.467.7226 or sales@valicomcorp.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: NANCY PECKHAM

Nancy began her career in telecommunications in 1983 as an account executive with Republic Telecom, a regional long distance carrier. She was named district sales manager for the Wisconsin region in 1987 when Republic Telecom was acquired by Mid American Communications. She recognized a need for independent, objective telecommunications consulting which led her founding Valicom. Since its launch in 1991, Valicom has been a leader in providing telecom expense management solutions and serves enterprise and mid-market clients in a variety of industries and verticals across the U.S. Nancy earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, founded and served as president of the Telecommunications Professionals of Wisconsin (TPW) from 1989-1992, and was executive vice president on