Zweig Returns to Old Firm With Aggressive Goals Intact

ZweigWhite LLC

Owners: Eli Research Inc. and BIA Digital Partners

Address: 320 Rollston Ave., Ste. 105, Fayetteville

Phone: 508-380-0469

E-mail: [email protected]

Web site: www.zweigwhite.com

Startup date: July 19

Mark Zweig had an unusual response when asked why he wanted to get involved with his latest business venture.

“It was appealing to me because my name’s on the door,” he said with a laugh.

Zweig recently opened the doors at ZweigWhite LLC, a company that caters to the architecture, engineering and environmental consulting industries, but his connection to it runs deeper than that. ZweigWhite actually grew out of Mark Zweig & Associates, which he started with $1,000 in capital in 1988.

The business became ZweigWhite in 1991 and twice was recognized as one of Inc. magazine’s 500 fastest-growing companies. Zweig exited the company in 2004, when it was sold to a private equity firm.

Apparent mismanagement, however, resulted in another change in ownership about 10 months ago. When the new group reached out to Zweig in June, he got back on board.

“As soon as I spent some time on the phone with those guys, I knew this was going to be a good thing,” he said, referring to Eli Research Inc. CEO Greg Lindberg in particular.

“We’re going to grow and get back on the Inc. 500 list,” Zweig said. “That’s the goal; damn the economy.”

So far, Zweig has helped acquire ValuPath Advisors, a local firm specializing in privately held business appraisal and valuation-related consulting services. Tracey Jeffers, previous owner of ValuPath, was part of the deal and is part of a staff of four with a payroll of more than $450,000.

Now Zweig, who also works as an entrepreneurship professor at the University of Arkansas and runs a home redevelopment business in Fayetteville, is determined to get the company bearing his name back on track. According to its Web site, ZweigWhite offers a comprehensive array of products and services – including newsletters, market research reports, seminars and executive education offerings, business conferences, and management consulting services – that covers practically all aspects of business management.

Is a Fragile U.S. Economy

Deterring Eentrepreneurs?

A survey by global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. shows start-up activity plummeted in the first half of 2010.

The start-up activity figures are part of the Challenger Job Market Index, a quarterly survey of about 3,000 job seekers, many of them former managers and executives from a wide variety of industries nationwide.

The survey, released July 19, shows an average of 3.7 percent opted to start their own business in the first half of 2010. That was down from 7.6 percent in the first half of 2009 and the 9.6 percent start-up rate averaged over the last two quarters of 2009.

The 3.4 percent start-up rate in the first quarter and the 3.9 percent rate in the second quarter represent the lowest two-quarter average since Challenger began tracking in 1986. 

Submit tips about new businesses in Northwest Arkansas to Rob Keys at [email protected] or 479-725-0394, ext. 323.