Recently, Floor Solutions Inc. (FSI) celebrated its 26th year in business, and it was our best year yet. In fact, we ended 2016 by being recognized as the 81st Fastest-Growing Company in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. The Times also named us the 35th Fastest Growing Company in the East Bay for years 2013-2015. Considering we are in the heart of Silicon Valley and competing against an extremely large concentration of computer and software tech firms, we are very proud of this accomplishment and the recognition that comes along with it.
FSI is a full-service flooring contractor, catering to architects and designers and considered go-to experts for projects that require the simplest or more intricate flooring designs and installations. It all started in 1990 when we moved from the Boston area with our two children ages six and four. We didn’t have a friend, relative, house, place of business or customer; however, we did have a dream of moving to the lovely San Francisco area and starting our own business. And, that’s what we did. I am third-generation in the floor covering business. My grandfather Ben started Ben Elfman Co. in Boston in 1907 and my father, Malcolm, joined him after fighting in Patton’s army in the Battle of the Bulge and attending the University of Pennsylvania in 1947. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1976, I worked for my father for 13 years where I learned the business. My wife Holly and I then ventured on our own to the West Coast. Holly was a stockbroker at the firm Kidder, Peabody & Co. in Boston before starting FSI. Today, we are headquartered in Livermore, Calif., which is in the East Bay of San Francisco. Because we offer an array of products including specialty collections from global brands, we opened a downtown San Francisco showroom for architects and designers in the Jackson Square neighborhood. Our showroom location is very accessible to the design community, allowing us to get involved early in the design process, help designers make the right selections for the right applications and offer a breadth of product that may not always be available.