The Salad Days

TECHEAD was started in 1988 by Phil and Philise Conein out of their small Richmond apartment. Initially the company provided graphics support and desktop publishing services to local clients. Looking for a more professional image and a separation of work and personal space, they moved into a 600 sq. ft. office in 1991 in Shockoe Bottom. In late 1991, they added graphics staffing support services for their clients.

Growing Pains

As the company continued to grow, a decision was made to move the office again. In August of 1994, the company moved into 3,000+ square foot building. The circa 1900 building is in the heart of the Shockoe Bottom area of Richmond, the center of Virginia's Tobacco Trade a century ago. Diagonally across from TECHEAD is The Farmer's Market which is the oldest continuously running farmer's market in the United States.

Computer Training Classes were added in early 1995 in a variety of popular graphics and multimedia applications, such as QuarkXPress, PageMaker, Photoshop, Illustrator, FreeHand, and Director.

In December of 1998 the Company changed its name to TECHEAD. In 1999 the building next door to 111 was purchased and construction begun. The company was chosen as a 4th time honoree on the list of the Rising 25 fastest growing Richmond, Virginia based businesses.

Hurricane season in 2004 brought the heavy rains of Tropical Storm Gaston. With over seven feet of water in some areas of Shockoe Bottom, TECHEAD suffered devastating losses. Despite the tragedy, TECHEAD renovated their office, and returned home. In September 2005, TECHEAD opened a second office in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In February of 2005, TECHEAD was honored to be recognized as Small Business Success Story of the Year in 2005, by Virginia Business Magazine. Also in 2005 we became an Authorized Adobe Training Center. In September 2006, TECHEAD opened a third office in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In 2007 TECHEAD made the Inaugural list of the "Inc. 5,000" a prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. In 2008 we were named a "Top Five" Authorized Adobe Training Center Worldwide. We also were honored in May 2008 as an honoree on the "Inner City 100" list, which showcases the nation’s top 100 urban entrepreneurs. Over 15,000 inner city companies were nominated for this year's Inner City 100.