Unlike many entrepreneurs, Travis Turner’s business journey did not start with a single great idea. For Turner, business ownership has been a lifelong goal, which led him to pursue his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) after earning his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. But as he progressed in his career at a leading health technology firm as a field technician, providing maintenance on medical imaging machines, the possibility of combining entrepreneurship with his experience felt more and more unlikely.

It was not until his work took him from Illinois to California that Turner saw an opportunity to put his various skillsets to work at once: seeing that, in California, maintenance on machines can be provided by third-party companies rather than just the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), he considered what it could take to enter the market. “My mind got to working – is this something I could actually do?,” he says, reflecting on the beginning stages of his business. In August of 2019, Turner launched Twilight Medical Inc and landed his first client within three weeks.  

Eight months into his tenure as the founder and owner of Twilight Medical Inc, as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered businesses across the world, Turner was busier than ever. The specialized maintenance on machines is required by the FDA, which meant that the demand did not slow down, despite shifts in the global economy. In many ways, Turner was the right person in the right place at the right time.  

“I was on the road for eight months straight, moving from contract to contract,” he remembers, explaining that, over the last 10 years, hospitals and manufacturers had struggled to find talented engineers interested in entering the maintenance field. “There haven’t been enough qualified folks to work on systems that were willing to get COVID shots and willing to travel, so the opportunity was there. I said yes to everything.”  

While enjoying his initial success, Turner kept an eye on the future and took advantage of the resources available to help him seize new opportunities. “I’m always trying to always see into the future and make the preparations now so when that moment happens in the future, I’m prepared,” he says. With that mindset, Turner began working with a procurement counselor from the California Capital APEX Accelerator to prepare to do business with federal government agencies.  

Working with his procurement counselor, Ralph “Skip” Masters, Turner wrote his capabilities statement, acquired necessary certifications, and learned the basics of bidding on government contracts. As a result of Skip’s guidance, Twilight Medical secured over $1 million in contract revenue, hired two new staff members, and created enough business to provide work for 20 additional contractors. 

“I learned early that you can’t do everything yourself. You have to seek out experts,” Turner says, reflecting on how his business has grown within the first six years. “Skip has been instrumental in our success because he has helped me do things the right way.”