When Jack Byrd III founded Solaren Risk Management in 2017, the company operated from a small office in a Nashville, Tennessee mall . Seven years later, Solaren has expanded operations across the southeastern United States, with projects in multiple states and a growing client base that includes government agencies and major commercial enterprises.
“The company kind of skyrocketed as soon as it started,” explains Taylor Pepper, director of communications for Solaren Risk Management. “Jack has a lot of connections. He knows a lot of people, which is really invaluable when you’re starting a business.”
This network, combined with Byrd’s background in the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshal Service, provided the foundation for growth beyond Nashville’s borders.
Regional Expansion Strategy
Solaren’s expansion follows a methodical approach driven by client needs and market opportunities. The company has established operations in North Carolina and maintains a presence in other southeastern states, adapting its services to local requirements.
“We’re working on North Carolina right now, and so we have plenty of people going out there all the time going to these locations, hiring people,” Pepper notes. “We’ll try to hire people on location for different contracts, especially if it’s outside of our headquarters scope of focus.” This allows Solaren to integrate into local communities while maintaining consistent service standards.
The expansion isn’t without challenges. “It’s a little bit more tricky just because if it’s a new state that we’re just diving into, it’s going to be hard to maintain that flow of communication,” Pepper acknowledges. The company addresses this by establishing local leadership and implementing standardized communication systems.
Adapting to Regional Requirements
Security regulations vary significantly between states and municipalities, requiring careful navigation of different licensing and training requirements. Solaren has developed systems to track these variations and ensure compliance across all locations.
“We have to pick and choose and manage who can go where based on their qualifications and their license,” Pepper describes. “We have a lot of qualified people on staff who know the current industry standards when it comes to what is required per license, and they do a really good job in disseminating that information.”
Crisis Response as Market Entry
Solaren’s response to Hurricane Milton in Florida exemplifies how the company uses crisis situations to demonstrate capabilities in new markets. When the hurricane threatened client properties, Solaren deployed a team complete with a mobile command center and patrol vehicles.
“We ended up taking a command center down there and we had multiple vehicles so we could patrol the properties,” Pepper recounts[5] . This operation not only protected existing client properties but showcased Solaren’s capabilities to potential clients in the region.
“The client was very happy with our services down there,” Pepper notes.
Technology-Fueled Growth
Jack Byrd has leveraged technology to manage Solaren’s expanding geographic footprint. The company uses a unified platform for scheduling, documentation, and communication across all locations.
“We have one platform that we use where we keep track of all the documents for our contractors, all of the time sheets, the schedules, everything all in one app,” Pepper explains. “Everything is accessible for every contractor that works with us.”
Mobile communication systems enable remote management and coordination. “We used to have landlines and direct numbers and all that stuff, but we moved it over to a mobile-based platform,” Pepper says. Surveillance technology plays a role in expansion as well. The company’s partnership with LiveView Technologies provides mobile surveillance trailers that can be quickly deployed to new locations, allowing Solaren to establish a security presence while building local teams.
Maintaining Quality During Expansion
As Solaren grows geographically, Jack Byrd has implemented systems to maintain service quality. The company conducts regular performance evaluations and maintains clear channels of communication between field personnel and headquarters.
“We definitely run them through the wringer in terms of what we ask them and how we qualify them,” Pepper says of the hiring process for new supervisors.
Weekly operations meetings bring together leadership from different regions to address issues and share information. “At 11 every day they all get together in the same room. They talk about things, go over everything, get on the same page,” Pepper shares.
