Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Rich Balot, the Founder and CEO of Victra:
Q: Please begin by giving background on who Victra is, and how you came to be the successful business that you are today.
A: Victra was founded as a partnership by me and my brother David Balot in October 1996 in Wilson, North Carolina. Victra was incorporated as ABC Phones of North Carolina, Inc. in 1999. Today, Victra is independently owned and operated in Raleigh, with more than 200 people in our HQ. In 2020, Victra opened its Greenville Sales Center, employing hundreds of team members who handle Verizon Consumer, Business, and Customer Care calls, along with Victra store support (HQ). As a company, Victra employs more than 6,600 people and serves guests in more than 1,700 locations across 50 states. Our success is grounded in our core values of performance, integrity, innovation, collaboration and celebration. We work hard to have an awesome culture and treat people how we want to be treated. Because we are privately held, we operate in a very entrepreneurial environment and are constantly looking for ways we can grow and evolve our business, this never settle mentality has been critical to our success.
Q: Your website outlines your core values, community involvement, and diversity and inclusion. Please elaborate on how those set you apart from both similar brands and competitors.
A: As mentioned above, our core values make us unique as well as our entrepreneurial spirit that lives within our leadership and employees. In addition, to our Rule #5 No A**holes, our people are what makes our company a unique place to work. We have many stories of employees who have worked their way up from sales consultants to leadership roles, with many opportunities for career growth that high performers want to be a part of.
Victra is committed to creating an inclusive culture of diverse team members at all levels of our organization. We are excited to continue to build our culture of diversity, equity and inclusion through education, engagement, and transparency. We have employees, vendors and guests that have different identities and we want to make sure that we are a safe space for them to be respected for exactly who they are and the value they bring to the organization. In alignment with our values, we want to not only recognize, but celebrate, the many different facets of VNation’s diversity.
As you likely saw on our site, we have five active Employee Resource Groups. Being part of our ERGs, our employees gain access to exclusive events, awareness and education, as well as being able to contribute to company DE&I initiatives and connect and collaborate with people in all areas and levels of the organization.
Q: Why did you come to choose the Ron Clark Academy as this year’s non-profit partner for Victra Cares?
A: We always pick a non-profit partner that aligns with our core values, as well as those with missions/causes that our employees care about. Ron and I both graduated from ECU and are very active in the college community and became acquainted through that connection. I took a tour of the Ron Clark Academy and was blown away with the concept and the work of Ron and his staff. I personally have been inspired by teachers in my life, and through my kid’s education, and wanted to help inspire other teachers with this unique development opportunity.
Q: How can people nominate a deserving teacher and donate to the campaign?
A: Visit to nominate a teacher through June 30th and donate today!
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: Our goal is to send at least 100 educators to RCA academy in early 2024 and raise 300K, we are excited to make a huge impact on these educators and would love to get to 250 nominees by the end of the month, help us get there by nominating a special teacher! Also love to share a bit more about RCA’s mission: to deliver the highest quality educational experience where global citizens are born through engaging teaching methods, academic excellence, relationship building, and a passionate climate and culture.
Ron has shared his story across many national outlets including: appearances on national TV shows, including two appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where Winfrey named him as her first “Phenomenal Man.”[11][12] In 2000, Clark received the Disney Teacher of the Year award.[13] Clark’s first year in Harlem was the focus of a 2006 made-for-TV movie, The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry.
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