Jim Holdman, Vice President at State Street Bank, could have rested on his laurels. His company was a leader in doing business with entrepreneurs of color in the Boston area, much to his credit and the support of his CEO, Marshall Carter. In fact, several entrepreneurs of color had gotten their first big break at State Street because Jim believed their size was not a reflection of their capabilities. He was an active member of the New England Minority Purchasing Council and supported a number of activities to promote entrepreneurs of color who did business with State Street. Furthermore, expenditures with entrepreneurs of color were on the rise and no one was complaining. But Jim was not ready to rest. He wondered what else he could do to create more opportunities for entrepreneurs of color at State Street.

Interested in some new ideas, Jim met with The Business Collaborative and learned more about how companies such as State Street can move their business relationships with entrepreneurs of color to the next level by focusing on "capacity building." He found the concept - using his company's purchasing power and influence to strengthen the competitive position of entrepreneurs to pursue large contracts - intriguing. Further brainstorming led to the outline of an approach that could be groundbreaking.

State Street was planning for a roll-out of an on-site program under a "master vendor" to help manage the costs of dozens of vendors working on information technology projects at the bank. Rather than select this master vendor in the typical way which would likely exclude a minority firm from competing for such a large contract, why not use this as an opportunity to build the capacity of a minority firm by turning the process around. By seeking a minority firm as the "primary" on this large contract and giving it the negotiating clout to team up with an experienced majority firm, could "capacity building" be structured as an integral part of this working relationship? Could the intended results of this relationship be a bigger, more experienced and more competitive minority firm, as well as excellent performance on the contract?

Jim began to explore the possibilities. Total Technical Services(TTS) was a minority firm that had done excellent work for State Street in placing IT personnel and was a likely candidate for playing a primary role, if it had the right partner. Jim asked The Business Collaborative to work with Total Technical's CEO, Kelvin Bernard, to clearly define the issues involved and assist him in identifying and recruiting a partner. TBC guided Kelvin through this process acting as both an advisor to and advocate for Total Technical throughout the selection process. In addition, TBC acted as an additional channel of communication for both firms as they each charted new waters.

Now the stage has been set. Total Technical has a billion dollar corporation as its partner that is committed to a capacity building relationship. In addition, other large firms have approached Total Technical to explore similar arrangements. State Street has been the lever to bring these parties together in a way that would not otherwise have happened. Says Jim, "Even though we have yet to implement our on-site program, this process has already been a success. With the help of TBC, we have stimulated some creative thinking at State Street and beyond, and Total Technical is positioned for substantial growth."