Supplier Spotlight: CertifiNOW, LLC

CertifiNOW, LLC, provides Project Management Training & Consulting Services. They specialize in advanced certification training for professionals and consultants in nearly every primary industry.  In a world where almost 70% of all projects fail, their primary audience consists of premiere organizations that understand investing in project management training will result in a positive ROI for their employees, clients, and academic or business units. 

During training sessions, CertifiNOW strategically demystifies the Project Management Institute's (PMI®) internationally accepted Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) so that university and corporate employees can comprehend it and skillfully apply it to increase project success rates and become project management professionals by passing PMI's Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) certification exams. As a result, over 90% of CertifiNOW students pass their certification exam on the first attempt.  

CertifiNOW reduces certification preparation time from approximately 12 months to 3 or 4 days of classroom instruction.    

For senior-level employees and executives not seeking certification: CertifiNOW provides a robust theoretical framework, the appropriate paradigms for considering projectized organizational structures, portfolio management, and project management consulting services. 

We asked Floyd Trotman III, CertifiNOW's Founder & Chief Learning Officer, for more about CertifiNOW and his own background so that you can better get to know this supplier:

What motivated you to start your business?  

I enjoy helping people. While working for IBM, I was assigned to a training role at IBM e-Business University, where I trained employees on IBM Consulting and Project Management methodologies. In that role, I discovered that I could combine my passion for educating people and helping people at the same time. A few years later, shortly after receiving a big promotion, IBM downsized and eliminated my organization. That gave me the time and opportunity to launch a Project Management Certification Training company.  

In what year was your business started?  

2010 

What work or special projects have you done for the Pitt community?  

I am a three-time Pitt Graduate and an active alumnus, so I have worked on many special projects for the Pitt community over the years. The project I am most proud of is being a founding Pitt Black MBA Network (PBAN) member. Through PBAN, while serving as the VP of operations, I was the lead architect of an MBA Scholarship program that brought together Pitt's Katz Graduate School of Business and the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) to provide MBA scholarship opportunities for deserving minority students from across the USA.   

In 2019, via CertifiNOW, I was invited to speak at the Chancellor Office’s Senior Leadership Academy about using the principles of project, program, and portfolio management as keys to implementing the Plan for Pitt. 

In 2022, CertifiNOW began working with the Pitt Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Office (EPPMO) to help them spread the benefits and discipline of Project Management throughout the University, starting with the Office of the CFO. I am currently leading those training and consulting efforts.  

What is the story or mission behind the business being what it is today?  Has your company had to grow or pivot since you first launched?  

When I decided to develop a certification training program from scratch, I thought about the many classes I took at Pitt and the many professional development courses I took throughout my career. I thought about what I liked and disliked about those educational experiences. Then reversed-engineered the CertifiNOW educational program by starting with what I did not like about many of my educational experiences. That enabled me to develop a student-centered approach to project management certification training. The following are our market differentiators: Time-Efficient, Boredom-Resistant, Student-Centered, and Quality-Driven.  

CertifiNOW had to pivot because the pandemic nearly put us out of business. We were off to one of our best years in 2020 when the pandemic shut the world down. Since the company's launch in 2010, our business model has been based on flying trainers across North America to teach public and private project management classes that led to certification as a PMP (Project Management Professional) or CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management). When the pandemic struck, all our courses, hotels, and airline tickets were abruptly canceled, and our business stopped. Suddenly no one could or would travel or congregate for educational purposes.  I was reluctant to try online training because I wasn't sure we could maintain our high pass rate.  90% of our students passed their certification exams on the 1st attempt (the highest in the industry), and I was concerned about losing that "best in class" status by switching to virtual training. However, a university professor in Texas suggested that we use his students as "virtual guinea pigs." To my surprise, our pass rate has increased, and we have now pivoted to become a distance learning company.  We still provide onsite training for private clients, but all our public courses (at www.CertifiNOW.com) are taught live via Zoom.   

Does your business identify as diverse?  If so, what does it mean to you?   

Yes, CertifiNOW Project Management Training & Consulting Services identifies as a diverse company. We have been certified as an MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the worldwide governing body for project management. CertifiNOW was the only African-American owned company in PMI's Registered Education Provider (REP) program for nearly a decade.     

Do you have any other affiliation with Pitt?  

I have three degrees from Pitt: BS in Computer Science, MS in Management of Information systems (MoIS), and MBA, Master of Business Administration.

Also, our discount program enables Pitt's Katz Graduate School of Business students to take our training at significantly reduced rates. Over the years, quite a few Katz students have utilized the CertifiNOW Katz discount to become certified Project Management Professionals (PMP). 

Do you have any interesting information or details that you would like to share with readers?  

I am a huge Pitt Sports fan. I have watched every Pitt football and basketball game during the last five years.