nDataStor Press

Recently, nDataStor's founder and CEO, Peter Prieto, spoke with MSP Success Magazine about his journey from growing up as a kid with entrepreneurial spirit to the business owner he is today. Read the article in full below!

You've heard that saying, "Creating something from nothing." Well, take Peter Prieto, for example. He was a kid of divorced parents growing up on the outskirts of San Francisco who was a high school dropout before slowly building his life up to the point where he could provide for his three children and found his own technology company. And today, this combination of Peter's relentless work ethic, dedication to his family, and passion for delivering innovative solutions to his customers has culminated in nDataStor—a premium provider of customized IT services for businesses across California.

From The Ground Up

The hard truth is that Peter had an unstable childhood. "My parents got divorced when I was in seventh grade," Peter begins. "As a result, I bounced between households, but it wasn't always bad. For example, I remember traveling around Mexico with my dad. We saw so many things, and on our way home, I decided to trade my American-made clothes and barter with the guys on the beach to buy gifts for my family back home. So, I guess you could say I was always an independent thinker with an entrepreneurial spirit." He continues, "I did spend a lot of time alone, but my favorite person to see was my grandpa. He was the hardest working man I've known, and all I ever wanted to do was make him proud. But that's challenging when you're a young rebellious teenager who just wants to skip class, play sports, and hang out with his friends." This attitude led Peter to drop out of high school, freeing him up to do just that.

Thankfully, with some pointed input from his mother, Peter eventually got his GED and then his first two jobs. "I worked at a warehouse making wax during the day and at TGI Fridays at night," Peter reminisces. "My mom bought me a $750 Monte Carlo to get to work, and I drove that thing with pride." Though most other kids are just kicking into their party phase at age 18, by then, Peter was over it and ready to navigate his next steps. "I ended up going to a tech school in Arizona because I thought I wanted to be an engineer," Peter explains. "Although I scored very high in all my classes, it wasn't what I expected, so I only lasted one semester before moving back."

With schooling off the table, Peter needed to find something else to occupy his time, which ended up being delivering sourdough bread from Boudin Bakery. "Funny enough, we ate so much bread that my first daughter still loves sourdough to this day," says Peter. He continues more solemnly, "At this time, though, my only focus was providing a better life than I had for my growing family, so I knew I couldn't work at the bakery forever." With this in mind, Peter got a job working in an NPA West warehouse in the late '80s. "I started in the warehouse but quickly proved myself, and they asked me to take on several other roles. I started doing purchasing, inventory management, helping customers with orders, cold calling—just anything to do with the sales process. I learned so much about customer service from a technical standpoint, so I really appreciated that."

After a few years, Peter began working as a Regional Manager in Northern California, where he and his team worked on various Unix applications for their clients. "Basically, our role there was to help our customers source and configure devices to work in their environment," says Peter. "Eventually, I transitioned to become a Manufacturer's Representative for a change of pace, but I was still always looking at things from a technological standpoint and trying to apply what I learned to help customers."

However, Peter also ran into an age-old issue—the companies he worked for were large corporations that wanted to prioritize SOPs and profit rather than premier customer care. Regarding this, Peter mentions, "I was already the one conversing with all the customers. I knew what they wanted, and, more importantly, I knew what they needed. So, when I realized that I wasn't empowered to deliver these solutions to clients and that I was becoming severely burnt out by all the traveling required in my current role to the point where I wasn't seeing my family much, I decided to start my own company." And thus, the seeds of nDataStor were planted.

Creating nDataStor

nDataStor was originally founded in 2008, but it wasn't until 2017 that the organization really hit its stride. "Providing bulk servers and storage solutions was something I knew I didn't want to do long-term," states Peter, "so I started researching other types of technology businesses and landed on MSP—a model that allowed us to proactively and remotely manage our customers' evolving technology needs." This changeover made sense for the organization on multiple levels. "First of all, we were already doing some Managed Service-type work for a few of our clients, so that was helpful," Peter comments. "Secondly, we already had the technology experience, so now it was just learning more about how to deliver a superb MSP experience. By taking some courses and working with a few companies to beta test, we figured out how to structure our services, price our offerings, and so forth."

And today, nDataStor is known as a premier provider of IT services with an eye for consistently exceeding their customers' expectations. For example, Peter and his team are always looking for ways to leverage best-in-class IT services for its clients. Peter explains, "I have no problem calling in a specialized technician if my techs have looked at a problem and don't know how to fix it. From my perspective, my highest priority is assisting our customers in the fastest time possible, and sometimes, that means calling in additional help. Plus, it's also a training opportunity for my employees." He adds, "Overall, I always tell my team: don't focus on the problem, focus on the solution."

For Peter, the solution to his problem of restrictive employers and long commute times was simply to start his own company—clearly, his grandfather's resolve and work ethic rubbed off on him a bit! But Peter's not the only businessman in the family now. "Along with two beautiful daughters, I have my youngest son, who was always super close to my grandfather," Peter says. "When the kids were little, we lived four doors down, so my son would always go over and have breakfast with my grandfather. Now, he's an entrepreneur in the entertainment industry, and I know my grandfather's watching over us with pride."

Looking ahead, nDataStor's goal is expansion. Peter notes, "Right now, we have our headquarters in Fairfield and two offices in Sacramento and San Jose, but we're looking to branch out even further." Ultimately, Peter's story demonstrates the importance of learning from your experiences—good or bad—and that every choice you make crafts you into the person you become. By bringing together his relentless work ethic instilled by his grandfather and his desire to let go of his partying past to create a better life for his family, and with his passion for technology and dedication to premium customer care, Peter Prieto has crafted nDataStor into an MSP that consistently delivers the best possible service to its clients while continually pushing the boundaries of innovation and excellence in the IT industry.