INDUSTRY: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
YEAR FOUNDED: 2004
PARTNER COLLEGE: LOS ANGELES CITY COLLEGE, COHORT 12

Nic Tiemens is co-founder of Infinity Aquarium Design, a custom aquarium design and installation company. When Nic attended the 10KSB program five years ago, he was encouraged to widen his perspective as to what kind of brand his company could become. He had the mindset that selling custom aquariums was fun, but limited when it came to opportunities in business. Here’s what he said prior to starting the 10KSB program, “I didn’t know what our capabilities were as a business and I didn’t know who I was supposed to be as the business owner. The clarity that came out of the program put me on course to understand my product, my customer, and my business better than anyone and changed the way I approached my work. The other area of the program that gave me a new perspective was the exploration of marketing. I had run my business solely on intuition and had never considered what it would look like to truly market my company. I had no idea that things could change so drastically.”

“When I turned in the first draft of my growth plan, my business advisor thought I was being too careful. With all of the tools I had been given in the program, he thought I had much more potential to achieve significantly higher revenues than I’d expected. Rather than playing it safe, I decided to challenge myself to envision what the best version of my company would look like in 5 years. At that time, to me, that version was a million-dollar company that was recognized for creating the world’s most luxurious aquariums."

In 2021, Infinity Aquarium Design reached that milestone sales goal that Nic set during his time at the 10KSB Program, and is on track to break that record in 2022. Infinity Aquarium Design has been recognized as the leader in luxury aquarium design. Nic attributes much of his company’s success to the 10KSB program, its curriculum, and its wonderful faculty members. The program changed more than his business — it changed his entire life. He was recently featured in an article on Business Insider, "I design aquariums for megamansions in Los Angeles that cost up to $250,000 — here's how I got my start."

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