Integrators '20 under 40' 2017—Nick McAmis

Nick McAmis, 39

President, CEO and owner, Sentry Security Solutions

Burleson, Texas

Nick McAmis, who founded Sentry Security Solutions in August 2013, has been in the industry for nearly 20 years.

“I started in the security industry at 19 years old as a technician with Brinks Home Security, and thought that it was going to be a good job for me. Then, as I got more involved, I quickly realized that I wanted it to be my career, for the same reasons that I'm still involved in the industry now: offering a high-quality product and service and being able to be proud of what you're doing,” McAmis said.

Sentry is mostly focused on the commercial side of the industry, with work in apartment complexes, small businesses, and high rises, McAmis said. The company's total split is about 65 percent commercial and 35 percent residential, he said.

At the start of 2017, Sentry started working with RMR Capital, “which has afforded us the ability to start to grow that residential side, now that we have a little bit of financial backing from that perspective. That is currently what we're driving toward,” McAmis said.

“We are also in the midst of launching our fire division—commercial fire. We have been outsourcing that to a third party; however, we're looking at bringing that in-house and doing all of that ourselves,” he said.

McAmis said he likes how technology in the industry evolves and added that vetting and incorporating new technologies also benefits recruiting younger employees. “Younger folks seem to be very interested in technology, how it works and the fact that it can integrate. That's what we've found as we recruit sales representatives and technicians, as well as [from] our clientele.”

McAmis identified video as a key technology. “For us, we've really found that video is a big driver for what we do,” he said.