Two Paths to Growth: Red Hawk’s Journey Through Expansion and Acquisition

Recently, I had the privilege of sitting on a panel at the 2026 OhioX CEO Retreat titled "Fast Expansion vs. Deep Expertise: Two Ways to Win." The conversation was refreshing, honest, and got me thinking about the different roads companies take to scale. For Red Hawk, our acquisition strategy became the breakthrough that transformed how we grow, and it's something I've been wanting to share more openly.

The panel brought together four CEOs with different approaches to growth.

• Lacey Picazo, CEO of ZoCo focuses deeply on UX design for healthcare, helping organizations drive the activation and engagement that determine whether a product succeeds. 
• Alex 'Fro' Frommeyer, Founder and CEO of Stack Health is leading Ohio's transition from group to individual health insurance by building the operating system for personalized health plans. 
• Brendan Gualdoni, COO of Aries Solutions has built their expertise around the technology that powers online stores: the website, checkout, and fulfillment systems that let retailers grow without their tech holding them back. 

Each of these companies has grown incredibly fast by staying laser-focused on what they do best, saying no to everything outside their lane. It's a smart strategy, and watching them execute it with precision was inspiring. Red Hawk has taken a different path. We're broader in our services, but that doesn't mean we're unfocused. It just means we've had to be intentional about how we operate and where we play.

Our Growth Story: Acquisitions and Organic Expansion

Red Hawk Technologies has been around since 2008. We've built a solid business serving mid-market companies in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, and Northern Kentucky region. But our real acceleration happened more recently. From January 2023 to July 2026, Red Hawk experienced 867% total monthly revenue growth. That's one of the fastest growth rates in our region, and it came from a deliberate combination of two strategies.

The first was strategic acquisitions. We made two acquisitions that fundamentally changed our trajectory. A lot of service firms, especially consulting and custom software development companies, struggle with founder-led-sales. It's that trap where the business can't grow faster than the founder can sell. We felt that challenge acutely, and acquisitions helped us break through that ceiling. Those two acquisitions didn't just add revenue; they added capabilities, team, and client relationships that positioned us for what came next.

The second was organic growth. But it's the intentional kind. We didn't just expand into every direction possible. Instead, we got really disciplined about where we focus our energy.

Scaling with Purpose: Breadth Meets Operational Focus

Here's the thing about Red Hawk that might seem contradictory at first: we're broad in the solutions we produce, but we're incredibly narrow in how we do it and who we serve.

We work across custom software engineering, AI agentic workflows, and technology solutions. On the surface, that sounds expansive. But in reality, we've been very selective. Our sweet spot is privately-owned, upper mid-market professional services businesses. These companies have unique challenges that off-the-shelf software can't solve, and they need partners who understand their operations deeply. We've deliberately stayed out of other areas. We don't do website design. We don't build shopping cart platforms. We're not trying to be everything to everyone.

What we've done is operate in a very consistent manner. Our delivery is repeatable. Our team understands our playbook. Our processes are refined. We've built a Software Development-as-a-Service (SDaaS) contract model that bundles development, support, maintenance, and enhancements into one simple monthly fee. No surprise costs. No guesswork. Just software that evolves with your business so you can focus on innovation, not headaches. That consistency and long-term partnership approach is what allows us to scale without losing quality or burning out our people.

The OhioX Factor

Being part of the OhioX CEO Retreat this year, our first year in OhioX, was a reminder of why community matters. You learn from others who are solving similar problems. You get challenged by different perspectives. You make connections that lead to unexpected opportunities.

And honestly, being welcomed into OhioX by leaders who genuinely wanted us to succeed made all the difference. It's rare to find a community that embraces new members with that kind of openness.

What This Means for the Future

Sitting on that panel, I realized something important: there's no one right way to grow. Deep specialization works for some companies. Strategic breadth with operational discipline works for others.

What matters is knowing who you are, being intentional about your choices, and executing with consistency. We could have tried to do everything. Instead, we picked our battles, stayed focused on our strengths, and invested in the acquisitions and people that would amplify that focus.

The journey from 2008 to where we are now hasn't always been smooth, but it's been intentional. And as we continue to grow and deepen our roots in the OhioX community, that intentionality is what will guide us forward.

Curious how custom software and AI agentic workflows could solve your unique challenges? We'd love to explore what's possible for your business.