Tom Pfeil co-founded The Link Group in 1994 with a simple conviction: clients deserved better than what the market research industry was giving them. Thirty years later, TLG holds a 99% client retention rate and an employee turnover rate that most companies don't even come close to. In this episode, host Andrew Borum sits down with Tom to trace how it all started, from a one-man shop in Charleston to a 100-plus-person employee-owned company, and what it took to build a company both clients and employees didn't want to leave.​

Tom and Andrew cover the early days of saying yes to everything (including a Friday afternoon research request that had them in mobile research labs over the weekend), why Tom and co-founder Brad Camrud chose an ESOP over a sale to private equity, and how sports like pickleball and golf map surprisingly well to qualitative and quantitative research thinking. Tom also shares the one piece of advice he gives every new hire. And it has nothing to do with market research methodology.​

A conversation about building a business on culture, curiosity, and the long game.

Resources & Links: ​

Connect with Andrew Borum on LinkedIn ​

Connect with Tom Pfeil on LinkedIn ​

The Link Group Official Website ​

Interested in being a guest? Let us know. ConnectionPoint@TLG.com ​

Thank you to our production team: ​

• Reilly Galloway: Producer, Videographer, Editor
• Haven Tyler: Sound Engineer
• Drew Young: Gaffer
• Executive Producers: Raven Laney, Nicole Johnson, and Maggie Borum​
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Connection Point is a new video podcast series from The Link Group. One-on-one conversations with the people behind the work. Find out where their instincts come from.