In late 2019, the Tampa Bay Business and Wealth team sat down to hear Robert Hessel’s story for the first time. It was touching and introduced us to a wonderful partner and advertiser, and then we learned that there was more to the story than we initially thought. These things can happen in this media world. So, without further ado, TBBW brings you the “deleted scenes” story of both Hessel and his right-hand man, Sean Colpoys, and the birth of Source 1 Solutions.
Fourteen years ago, Robert Hessel was driving around in a Toyota Camry, hustling to close deals out of a mobile office stuffed with boxes and ambition. Today, he, along with Sean Colpoys, is at the helm of Source 1 Solutions, a fast-growing global IT services company on track to surpass $100 million in revenue. With offices in the United States, Ireland, England and Serbia, and nearly 200 employees worldwide, their baby has grown up.
But to understand where they’re going, it’s important to understand where they came from.
In 2011, Hessel was in a tough spot. He had walked away from a business where he was a partner in name only, was short on credit and capital, and was unsure how, or if, he’d be able to start over. Enter Colpoys, a financially savvy entrepreneur who had also just endured a rough partnership. A mutual friend introduced them, and they immediately hit it off.
“He understood factoring, numbers and finance,” Hessel recalls. “I needed someone who could help me figure out how to make this dream a reality.”
It was a phone call during lobster mini season in the Keys that sparked the official founding of Source 1. Hessel, emboldened, told Colpoys to go ahead and file the paperwork. When he got back, Colpoys had shut down his business and told Hessel, “We’re doing this together.” For the next six months, Colpoys worked without pay.
The startup years weren’t glamorous. They bounced between small offices, stretched every dollar and, at one point, were close to shutting down completely. Banks pulled their credit lines. Vendors were unpaid. They passed each other at the mailbox each morning, wondering if it was time to throw in the towel.
Instead, they doubled down. Hessel enrolled in a professional development program they couldn’t afford, he says, believing it would help him find clarity. It worked.
They made tough decisions, including shutting down one office, and leaning in to a new direction. Revenue dropped, initially, but became more profitable. Then growth surged: from $2.3 million to $4.4 million, then to $8.9 million and it continues to grow, year by year.
That commitment to values has shaped the culture of Source 1. More than 43% of employees have been with the company for over five years. Some started as interns and now hold senior engineering roles. Ten-year anniversaries are marked with Omega Moonwatches, a pricey, symbolic gift Hessel and Colpoys love giving, often tearing up during the moment.
“There’s a lot of history and emotion packed into those celebrations,” Colpoys says. “We’ve watched people buy their first homes, have their first kids and build lives with us. It’s incredibly rewarding.”
Hessel moved to Ireland for several years to open a new office, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and a complicated international immigration process for his family. While there, he began his life with his now-wife, Tajila, in a chance encounter. The two hit it off quickly, despite her having only recently moved to Ireland from Brazil and speaking little English. Her courage and tenacity were magnetic.
Her story is striking. Tajila fled Brazil after surviving a traumatic experience involving an attempted kidnapping. She moved to Ireland to start fresh, learn English (with the help of the show, Friends, no less) and build a safer life. Hessel speaks with reverence about her bravery and strength, often joking that he wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of her punch—she’s trained in boxing and martial arts and once tried to run over the men who attacked her.
The couple now has two daughters, and Tajila is launching her own wellness business. “She’s perfect for me,” Hessel says. “She understands me, and I know not to cross her. We balance each other out,” he says, laughing.
During Hessel’s time abroad, Colpoys held down the fort stateside. “We were growing rapidly, and he wasn’t here physically,” Colpoys says. “But he was always present. We had to trust each other even more.”
That period, while challenging, was a pivotal chapter for Source 1. Hessel says it taught him the difference between being vital to a company and being functional. “I couldn’t physically insert myself into the day-to-day,” he says. “So, we had to lead through trust, strategy and communication.”
Now, as president, Colpoys is officially recognized as Hessel’s right-hand, something they both take considerable pride in.
“We’ve learned a lot from each other,” Hessel says. “We’re very different, but we share the same values. We don’t always agree, but we always come back together.”
Their bond was evident throughout the interview, with frequent jokes, laughter and even a few tears. “This works because we’re aligned in how we treat people,” Colpoys says. “We’ve been through the lowest lows and the highest highs together. I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else.”
Colpoys, too, has a story rooted in reinvention. After a successful early business career, he went through a devastating financial crash and business betrayal during the 2008 recession. He chose to pay his employees instead of himself, even storing cash in a safe buried under a flowerbed to make sure payroll could be met.
Those tough times changed him. He returned to music for stability, performing in bars at night while running his office during the day. He eventually married, raised a daughter and stayed close with his former spouse following their divorce, even celebrating holidays and family milestones together. “We’ve built a modern family that still supports each other,” he says. “I’m grateful for that.”
Beyond business, the duo are also executive producers on a music documentary and other film projects. Colpoys, once a shock-rock guitarist who shared stages with Metallica and Soundgarden, still performs locally. Hessel is involved with autism awareness and family-focused philanthropy through The Hessel Family Foundation. Their company’s growth has afforded not just security for their families but a platform to invest in causes they care about.
One of the most touching stories came when a longtime supplier pulled Hessel aside and told him, “You’re a great sales guy, but a shitty businessman.” Rather than take offense, he took the lesson to heart. That advice prompted a deeper focus on the financial backbone of the business and many conversations with Colpoys about how to become stronger leaders.
The pair joke that they’ve fired each other a hundred times, but they’re still standing. Still building. Still dreaming bigger.
“We’re more than halfway to our goal,” Hessel says. “But we’re restructuring internally, to build a $100 million company that doesn’t just grow but lasts.”
Because at Source 1, it’s not just about scaling a business. It’s about building something that matters, together.
