Colonial Systems

A desire for storytelling can hit at a young age; think Steven Spielberg.

While in high school in 2016, Nathan Simpson worked with the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, which gave him $1500 to start his own company. It was then that Nathan got involved with the SBDC – Lynchburg Region.

Still in high school, he started his next company, Colonial Systems, in 2017. Nathan’s dream was to bring a new vision to clients using fresh video, social media, and all aspects of digital marketing. He knew the SBDC would play a key role in this venture, but his story does not follow the typical path.

 “I’ve always had a passion for storytelling and felt that multimedia design was a great outlet for that,” Nathan says. “Fortunately, my business partners and I discovered an underserved market in federal agencies.”

Nathan and his partners got to work drafting proposals and creating demonstrations of their services for government organizations. They managed to catch the attention of the National Park Service and the Department of Defense.

Though thrilled with these early triumphs, Nathan was shrewd enough to know that Colonial Systems would need support and careful preparation to ensure enduring success. “I knew we’d need the oversight of the SBDC. They helped us establish relationships with the Procurement Technical Assistance Center and introduced us to people who’ve supported us in taking this business to the next level.”

Nathan and Colonial Systems now lead the charge in taking modern digital marketing to the government sector and telling stories in new, engaging ways. When it comes to Nathan’s story though, he is the first to acknowledge the SBDC’s critical role.

“Especially in terms of getting into government work, Stephanie Keener at the Lynchburg office was great,” Nathan says. “She helped get me up to speed on government contracting. The SBDC was outstanding in preparing me for the work Colonial Systems now does.”