We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Briana Tillman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Briana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
kDelta’s five owners all met while working at a training company together. We bonded over how much we believed in the work we were doing and expressed our desire to put the best, most up-to-date training available out to our community. Our little work group fell on the “new” side of old school vs. new school because we pushed for the latest, evidenced based practice to be taught to our students as opposed to 20-30 year old direction. This led to us being labeled as sort of the “B Team” which we embraced and affectionately re-named ourselves “Team Two.” The more Team Two pressed for the quality of our training program, the more we felt dismissed. Team Two had the idea one day (after one of us repeated a quote from a TV series) that we could offer a better training experience on our own and make it fun. That spark of an idea grew and grew until one day we took the plunge. The name “kDelta” (constant change) came from the lesson we learned from this experience – never be too proud to accept and incorporate new information to give others the best version of yourself.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My driving force behind every job I’ve chosen is I want to teach people how to keep themselves and their families safe. I started out in self defense (Krav Maga), then moved to driver’s education and child passenger safety (CPST). After that I got involved in trauma simulation and hostile environment training. That then morphed into private security, and further into instructing federal security officers. The culmination of those experiences are the foundation of everything that kDelta teaches. Unfortunately, none of us are immune to the possibility of facing a potentially life-threatening event. Our goal for everyone that completes a training course is to eliminate the phrase “I didn’t know what to do.”
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
My previous connections in the training field greatly benefited kDelta though word of mouth. My reputation as an instructor and manager for previous organizations meant people already knew whatever kDelta offers has that quality reputation already built in. Showing respect and kindness is something that makes an impression with people much greater than a sticker, patch, pen, or promotional deal ever will.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
We started small with the intention to grow slowly. The 5 owners decided up front that if we could not afford something out of pocket, that we were not going to make the purchase. This methodology has not only kept us out of debt, but also has made each piece of training or facility equipment that much more valuable in our eyes. We have the concrete reminder of the work we put into everything we have now. The extreme generosity of other small businesses in our community has been a huge part of our ability to grow slow and steady. From sharing advice and resources, to lending equipment free of charge, to allowing use of classrooms for free or next to nothing truly shows how an entire community can come together to build each other up. Teamwork really does make the dream work.
Contact Info:
- Website: kdeltatraining.com
- Instagram: @kdeltatraining
Image Credits
Nic Nixon, NixonLLC