- July 17, 2023
- Posted by: Luz Velasco
- Categories: Construction, Success Stories
Written by: Letty Alvarez (7/10/23)
After Alex Buggy left the Navy SEAL Teams, he wanted to create his own business with a culture where employees and leadership would work together as a single team similar to his experience as a Special Forces Operator. He had a great mentor that guided him from military to civilian life, with the mentor’s encouragement and support he created ABBA, a construction management company. He now prides himself on the holistic approach to his business and said, “Our employees work for our clients, and our management team works for the employees to efficiently provide for their families.”
Even though Alex had a great notion of how to run the business, obtaining government contracts proved to be a whole new challenge. Alex feels fortunate to have worked with the San Diego, Orange, Imperial PTAC/APEX Accelerator for over 5 years. He mentioned, “APEX Regional Director Mike Sabellico has met us at base level, teaching me about NAICS Codes, FAR Clauses, how to identify and pursue opportunities and most importantly how to write a successful proposal. Mike has been a guiding light to dealing with contracting officers, and a translator for working in the federal space.”
According to Alex, “APEX Accelerator is an ongoing resource that I know I have in my back pocket when faced with government contracting t. There was not just ONE challenge but several that the APEX has helped me overcome.” In the last 5 years, the biggest help has been the depth of understanding government agencies and expanding into other verticals other than construction management. The growth in other verticals, and the strong construction foundation directly ties back to Mike’s (APEX advisor) help.
He credits receiving a contract after attending a Doing Business With… workshop at PTAC where they were able to meet one of the agency representatives and secure an award with them. Alex also credits his success and leadership skills to his great relationships with GAFCON, Turner Construction, San Diego Unified School District, and the San Diego Airport Authority. He recently was awarded several sub-contractor projects at San Diego Airport Terminal 1 with the Turner Flat Iron JV worth almost $2 million over 6 years. He also landed a contract with Gafcon for San Diego Unified School District, and other subcontractor projects with LA Metro and Caltrans.
