Women-owned QuantumMark grows into nationally renowned company

RENO, Nev. — In 1995, Suzanne March and Diane Borhani, practice partners at Reno-based Howard Consulting Group at the time, were in the middle of a project to reorganize and reengineer all the departments and systems of the Nevada DMVs.

It was then when March and Borhani decided to carve their own path — together.

“Working on that project through all of those years, we found that our expertise melded nicely together,” March said in a phone interview with the NNBW. “I had the financial side of things and she had the organizational side of things.”

A year later, in 1996, the colleagues formed their own business, which went through a few name changes before it was rebranded in 2004 as QuantumMark.

March said the goal of launching QuantumMark was to work on projects that caused significant change in the organizations they’re working with and help them not only develop new strategies, but achieve them.

“One of the things that we’ve seen over the years is that it’s pretty easy to come up with a project and come up with a strategy, but it’s a lot harder to see that be successful and yield the kind of benefits you were originally expecting to achieve,” March said.

Teaching valuable skills

Quickly, QuantumMark garnered a reputation as a top-notch consulting company. Moreover, it carved out a niche as a go-to consulting firm for vital record projects, March said.

In fact, QuantumMark has been a national leader in vital records transformation, as its guided 13 states, including Nevada, through the modernization of their state systems.

This fact led the Northern Nevada Development Authority to award QuantumMark the Kit Carson Pioneer Award for Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017.

The Reno-based company also had helped the state of Nevada spell out medical marijuana regulations, applications and evaluation processes, among many other projects.

QuantumMark, which has 13 employees, prides itself on delivering its projects on time, within budget and with skills transferred to clients. Exemplifying its high standards, the Reno-based company is certified by the Institute of Management Consultants — less than 1 percent of all consultants have been awarded this certification.

“As the project moves forward, we have to teach the skills that these employees need in order to do the projects,” March said. “We always leave the employer with more skills than when we got there. That’s one of the reasons our clients love us — they can count on us to train people on how to be more valuable employees.”

‘An important contribution’

Back when March and Borhani started a women-owned company, they weren’t thinking about breaking any gender barriers. Now, more than 20 years later, March said she realizes the significance of their joint venture.

Notably, QuantumMark is a nationally certified women-owned business through the Women Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the leading advocate for women business owners and entrepreneurs.

“We like to think that we’re a role model for women that are in business and want to start a business,” March said. “We look at that as an important contribution that we’re making.”

QuantumMark’s offices are located at 639 Isbell Road, Suite 350, in Reno. Visit quantummark.com to learn more.