Back in 2017, Felix Media Solutions (FMS), then just three years into its journey as an ambitious Austin, Texas-based AV integration firm, found itself on the brink of collapse. With the unexpected resignation of its bookkeeper, the company faced an impending payroll crisis, with the unsettling specter of failure looming large.
It’s a fear that haunts every small business owner.
Panic-stricken, Lionel Felix, the company’s founder, turned to his then-girlfriend, Lindsey Rima Felix, for support. His mind raced with uncertainty as he dialed the phone. Amid the turmoil, her voice cut through like a beacon of steadiness.
“I got this,” she assured. “It can’t be that hard.” Her calmness was both surprising and reassuring to him.
This pivotal moment set the stage for a story of resilience.
This mindset is deeply ingrained in Felix, who now serves as CEO of FMS. It springs from her belief that no challenge is insurmountable. Observing the world, Felix sees others accomplishing tasks, and she recognizes that, regardless of roles or expertise, everyone is fundamentally human, and everyone faces the day the same way: one step at a time.
Leveraging this perspective, Felix conveyed to Lionel a sense of calm and determination that was undeniably convincing. Hanging up the phone, he felt a newfound confidence, and he was ready to face whatever might lie ahead, certain that everything would be fine.
Everything Turned Out
Felix is excited not only about expanding recurring revenue but also about utilizing technology advancements to enhance service offerings in the AV industry. Photo by Genevieve Daniell.
And everything did, in fact, turn out fine — if not better and stronger than before. Notably, Commercial Integrator awarded FMS the prestigious title of Integrator of the Year in 2023. What’s more, in 2021, Felix was inducted as one of Commercial Integrator’s 40 Influencers Under 40, Class of 2021. Her ingenious approach to finance and leadership has taken her from programming roles at FMS to executive management. She has made meaningful contributions to revenue growth and profitability increases for the company, while offering competitive benefits and compensation for employees. FMS has grown steadily, going from an idea that Lionel Felix had had almost 10 years ago to being a $10 million business today.
At the start of this year, he made a bold but thoughtful decision — namely, to step down as CEO. Now, Lionel Felix serves as CRO. In this new capacity, he concentrates on advancing business development by identifying revenue streams and crafting effective strategies to capture recurring revenue.
“I’m like the Kool-Aid Man,” Lionel Felix jokes. “I go through walls.” He continues, “I realized that what got [FMS] here doesn’t take us to the next level. To achieve quality growth, we need a lot more strategy and far more established policy and procedures. It takes that kind of leadership to be effective and profitable long-term.”
Lindsey Rima Felix’s journey at FMS — starting with programming, field service calls and growing into management — has seen her excel in every role, culminating in her appointment this year as CEO. Her deep understanding of the company, combined with her ability to navigate uncertainty with confidence and foresight, makes her the quintessential leader for FMS in this next phase of growth.
With a proactive and analytical mindset, Felix is poised to set the wheels in motion, and she says she’s ready to confront and conquer unforeseen and unexpected challenges.
Managing the Business
“When you succeed, it’s easy to assume that success was somehow predestined,” she reflects. “It absolutely wasn’t.” In FMS’ infancy, Felix says, “We were working our tails off. We were doing great work. We had plenty of projects and happy clients. However, there was a problem. “As it turns out,” she continues, “we weren’t making very much money at the time. We assumed that, if we were doing good work, and we were busy, we must be great at business. We weren’t good at running a business just yet.”
FMS was fortunate to have a team whose members were highly skilled and dedicated. We learned that managing a business demands a different skill set. “We were a little fast and loose on the finance side,” she acknowledges, thinking back on the company’s early days.
A few weeks prior to the unexpected departure of FMS’ first bookkeeper, Felix attended the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Accelerator Program, where she took copious notes and read every book that the instructors mentioned. A couple of weeks later, when she faced a challenging situation, she was armed with just enough information to be proactive. Felix knew the time had come to take decisive action.
Without the luxury of weeks of preparation time, she instinctively assessed the scenario, asking, “What are we up against, and how can we recruit the help we need?” This led to the immediate and strategic decision to hire a qualified professional to help with the business’ finances. Chile Martinez with Tax Trailer helped us build the initial set of processes and procedures that allowed us to get a much clearer idea of our financials, better understand our projects and better understand our cash flow needs,” she says.
A Deeper Look at the Finances
When Felix first looked at FMS’ finances, she discovered that the company had $300,000 in accounts receivable that were being neglected. She immediately picked up the phone, along with emailing those accounts to send overdue invoices. As it turned out, invoices generated by QuickBooks were getting caught in clients’ spam folder.
“I don’t have an MBA,” Felix declares. “I didn’t take business and accounting classes. But what I am really good at is learning.” She continues, “Some people are uncomfortable calling and talking about money. In my case, I had a really great example close to home: I had a fantastic insurance agent who had a very friendly and helpful communication strategy for discussing payments.” Thus, Felix found a way to ease payment collections and strengthen client relationships along the way. Indeed, through accounts receivable follow-ups, Felix gained valuable insights and heard client feedback, enjoying all the direct interaction.
In 2017, Felix implemented new processes to improve the company’s financial stability — for example, maintaining a savings buffer for payroll. This thoughtful approach, along with refinement to bidding processes to ensure adequate project planning, has yielded enhanced profitability and greater operational efficiency. In sum, these efforts were a significant turning point for FMS, transforming the company into a more robust and capable entity than it formerly was.
Navigating New Business Challenges
True leadership comes from self-awareness and supporting employees, fostering a thriving, holistic workplace where people want to be. Photo by Genevieve Daniell.
Navigating new business challenges in the AV industry was daunting, but Felix relied on resources and fundamental business principles that hold true across market sectors. Two influential books — Profit First by Mike Michalowicz and Simple Numbers by Greg Crabtree — guided her in transforming FMS’ company mindset from focusing solely on exciting AV projects to being a responsible and sustainable business. This shaped her approach to managing the business effectively.
“As we’ve grown and matured, we’ve [come to] require very different skills,” Felix reflects, mentioning as examples calmness, predictability and process orientation. “The ability to evaluate our performance and consistently improve is important,” she adds. “FMS has grown wildly over the last couple of years. It’s important to me [as CEO] to make sure that we are building a healthy company — not just a big and exciting company but a really healthy company.”
“The great thing about FMS,” Felix continues, “is that we can do this any way we want to. It’s a privilege, but it’s also a curse.” She elaborates, saying, “Nobody is telling us where our boundaries are. It’s important that, as we grow, we think about what is sane and sustainable, what is great for our employees, what is great for our clients and how we make sure that this business is rewarding all the hard work that’s gone into it.”
Felix adds, “This is my goal, as I take us to the next level. We are, in terms of being a business, in our teens: We’re maturing. We’re in control of our destiny in a way that we weren’t necessarily before. We were wild and excited.”
According to Felix, “While that enthusiasm is still there, our company culture is really strong. [We are] making sure that we’re growing…making sure that that culture isn’t dependent on the year [that] staff joined the company or who did whose onboarding. Our goal is to establish processes that are repeatable and predictable, moving beyond any single person’s influence, including Lionel’s and mine.” She declares, “We want FMS to be a company that stands strong on its own. I am a big believer in hiring talented people and then stepping aside to let them excel.”
Leadership is Service
Inspired by Campbell’s Soup’s first female president and CEO, Denise Morrison, and her view of leadership as a service to others, Felix aims to foster an environment in which hiring great people and empowering them leads to greater success. “It is a real privilege to get to serve FMS, our employees, our clients and our partners [as CEO] because we can do great things together as we grow,” she reflects.
Felix continues, “I’m excited about building our recurring revenue. As we’ve grown as a company, we now have a decade’s worth of clients that we serve, which is exciting. But it also means that service plays a much larger role in our business than it did early on.”
She is excited not only about expanding recurring revenue but also about utilizing technology advancements to enhance service offerings in the AV industry. As Felix puts it, “I love the way technology has changed in the last decade. We get to do good and really interesting work, but we also have really great tools that make some of the basics so much easier than they were when we started.”
FMS’ goals extend well beyond simply pursuing growth. “I want to make sure we’re doing really healthy business,” Felix emphasizes. Although achieving large revenue numbers can be thrilling, FMS’ approach prioritizes quality and sustainability.
Strategically Shifted Focus
As FMS evolved from a small business to a 30-person team, it has shifted its focus to larger, more complex projects that align with its expertise. Based in the capital city of Texas, FMS focuses on opportunities from companies that are establishing headquarters in the area. This allows the integrator to engage in substantial multi-day installations and design-build work. This transition further underscores Lindsey and Lionel Felix’s commitment to quality and sustainability, as they prioritize projects that ensure profitability and employee growth.
By fostering a mature and healthy business environment, FMS continues to thrive, avoiding the pitfalls of heedless expansion and, instead, nurturing the team’s development. “My vision for this year is to focus on delivering our best work by selecting projects where we truly excel and [that] are the ideal fit,” Felix explains. “I want us to dedicate the time and attention each project deserves, without the pressure of taking on too many at once.”
Lionel Felix agrees completely. “In the rush to grow,” he begins, “it’s easy to overlook the significance of the people you’re on this journey with and the joy of the journey itself. Many entrepreneurs start businesses out of a love for what they do, yet the relentless pursuit of milestones and the pressure to please everyone can drain that joy. It’s crucial to savor the moments — even when you’re deep in the trenches. The journey may seem glamorous, but it’s hard work. So, take time to appreciate it. You don’t always have to constantly be hustling.”
CEOs and founders are often fueled by the excitement and enthusiasm of working with technology and witnessing clients’ delight with their solutions. However, a key piece of advice for leaders is the criticality of recognizing personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as separating ego from the business’ needs. This self-awareness allows for authentic leadership that prioritizes company values and fosters sustainable growth. Moreover, an employer has tremendous power to positively impact employees’ lives — everything from offering comprehensive benefits to supporting significant life events.
By embracing these responsibilities, strong company leaders not only cultivate a thriving workplace but also ensure that their company is well positioned to take care of its clients and embrace a holistic approach to business success.
