Nerds on Site strives to be the go-to mobile IT-support company for the little guy

• Offers mobile IT-support for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as corporate and residential users
• Operates in 10 Canadian cities and four Florida locations
• Generates about $8 million to $10 million in revenue annually

What Nerds On Site does:

Nerds on Site (CSE:NERD) (OTCMKTS:NOSUF) is a mobile IT-support company for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as for corporate and residential users.

The Canadian company offers more than a dozen services, including network installation and support, PC setup, tailored software services, website design and hosting, and wireless networking. It also provides round-the-clock network security and device monitoring, on-site and remote support, and IT-asset management, among other services.

Nerds On Site, which operates in 10 cities across Canada as well as several Florida locations, has teams of carefully chosen technology specialists ready to visit homes or workplaces to diagnose problems on the spot and offer ongoing managed solutions to prevent problems occurring in the first place. 

Often, a fix will be at hand and the team member will be able to find and implement solutions before leaving. If software, parts, or a security installation is required, specialists will work closely with suppliers to get things fast for customers and at fair prices.

When it comes to software, Nerds On Site also has the ability to develop unique, state-of-the-art solutions through third-party developers to handle services such as electronic-records processing and security applications. The company also has been named an Apple Inc (NASDAQ:APPL) mobility-solutions partner to SMEs that use iPads and iPhones

The company, founded in 1996, uses a revenue-sharing model with its workers who are dubbed EntrepreNERDS, or eNerds. Simply put, they are independent contractors who share between 37% to 50% in revenue from each contract they sign. 

Those who qualify to be eNerds get about a month of training at Nerds on Site’s headquarters in London, Ontario and are tested for real-world experience before they are allowed to interact with customers. The company currently has 128 trained eNerds.

Each eNerd is certified by industry leaders such as Alpabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DVMT), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) to ensure that they can provide clients with IT solutions for any system interface.

The eNerds are also encouraged to work as a team through the company’s IamaNerd.com interface, a web-based database of IT solutions and a system for billing, purchasing and communication between the company, its customers and contractors.

How is the company doing:

Nerds on Site each year services more than 12,000 clients, including a large number of Canadian Tire locations. It also has a 96.5 customer satisfaction rating. 

It doesn’t really have a direct competitor – Best Buy Co Inc‘s (NYSE:BBY) Geek Squad provides similar services, but those are targeted more towards the installation of video and audio systems rather than onsite IT solutions.

The company says its sharing model on average generates about $8 million to $10 million in revenue annually with normalized net earnings of about $100,000. It has generated approximately $160 million in revenue since its inception. And management notably owns 50% of the company’s shares.

As part of its strategy to grow the company and gain a foothold in the US, Nerds on Site recently expanded into the Florida market, rolling out a franchise model as it builds its team of eNerds. Arizona is the next high-growth target state. 

The eNerds in Florida are required to pay a $2,500 franchise fee which includes training, a local customer database, low-cost inventory, and any other support. US-based eNerds also operate under the Canadian revenue-sharing model. 

They get competitively priced lease or buy options for a trademarked red Volkswagen NerdMobile, a fleet of which the company purchased with some proceeds from its $4.7 million IPO in November 2018. The company also bought the cars as part of a branding strategy.

So far, the company has set up camp in Fort Lauderdale, Port Charlotte, Tampa Bay and West Palm Beach and has added several clients, including an airport, a high school, a marina, and several real estate companies.

Inflection points: 

• Expand into the 10 fastest-growing US cities, mostly in Florida and Arizona, with 10 eNerds in each
• Deploy an area developer franchise model in the US in which geographic franchises can be purchased 
• Double annual revenue to $19 million once established in the US 
• Continued expansion in Canada with a focus on more corporate relationships

What the boss says:

“Florida is continuing to deliver proof that the NERDS model can be rapidly scaled in the USA,” according to Nerds On Site CEO Charles Regan.  

“The team has followed the plan that has been so essential to our nationwide presence in Canada, generating tremendous market awareness and connecting to SME’s through promotions with our NERD parades, direct sales and by embracing community business organizations for promotion to clients such as local banks.” 

Story by ProactiveInvestors