By: Kaitlyn Bell

“If we’re going to work this hard, we should do something for ourselves.”

That single thought launched what would become a multimillion-dollar company. Jeff Borello, CEO and Co-Founder of Andromeda Technology Solutions, started the business over 30 years ago with two partners. Today, the company employs 36 people, brings in over $9 million annually, and ranks among the top MSPs in the country.

The Spark That Started It All

Borello and his two co-founders were working 60–80 hour weeks at a high-tech firm that often struggled financially. One day, they decided to take a risk.

“If we’re going to work this hard, we should do something for ourselves,” Jeff recalled.

They launched Andromeda part-time, working nights and weekends. Eventually, each partner went full-time, and the company took off.

“We started it real slow… then I became full-time, and each of the guys did the same,” Borello said.

Staying Focused in a Noisy Industry

Over the years, Andromeda explored different services—business phone systems, physical security, web development—but ultimately returned to its core: managed IT.

“At some point, we were running almost four or five companies inside of here,” Jeff said.

It was too much. Planning suffered, leadership bandwidth was stretched, and results were uneven. “I think we probably would’ve been much better off had we just stayed in IT, focused on it,” he said.

That refocus has paid off. The company now serves mostly manufacturing clients and is growing steadily.

Building a Culture That People Stay For

Retention in the MSP industry is notoriously difficult, but Andromeda has an average employee tenure of seven years. Borello attributes that to a clear focus on internal culture.

“We spent probably two or three years just working on culture, working on our benefits, working on our packages, interviewing the employees,” he explained.

That investment led to Andromeda being named one of the “Best Places to Work in Illinois” four years in a row.

“We’ve consciously built a place that we want to be a good place to work,” he added.

Why Some Clients Just Aren’t Worth It

While expanding into the manufacturing sector, Borello learned an important lesson: not all business is good business.

“We are not going to take on the manufacturer who doesn’t want to invest,” he said.

Some facilities still rely on pencil and paper. Others run highly automated systems.

“For us, it’s very much a partnership… They have to be willing to help themselves at some level,” Jeff said. This selective approach ensures Andromeda can deliver meaningful results to clients who truly value IT.

Leadership Lessons from 30 Years in IT

Borello’s view on leadership has evolved over the decades. In the early days, he and his partners worked around the clock. As they hired more people, that model no longer worked.

“We had to build a different organization,” he said.

He now sees his role as strategic, not just operational. He avoids regret but reflects intentionally. “Most things, you make a decision and go… If it’s not working out, you fix it and go a different direction,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Borello has no plans to quit.

“I don’t have a hobby. I work, but I enjoy it,” he said. “If I’m having fun, who can fault me?”

Published by Joseph T.