Providing Businesses and Advisors with the Tools Needed to Grow
The Start of Our Growth Journey
The business advisory company, STUCK, was founded in 2014 to live out the passion of imparting the lessons the three of us – Jerry Jendusa, Jim Harasha, and Paul Schulls – learned from growing our basement start-up, EMTEQ, to an international 100M+ organization.
How We Got Unstuck
This business journey involved us getting stuck, making numerous mistakes and learning many lessons. To get unstuck, we created and perfected strategies, processes, and tools to enable EMTEQ to scale at the rate that it did. These strategies revolved around the creation and execution of our Single-Page Plan. This plan, and its execution model, aligned the business to the same goals, engaged staff, and accelerated EMTEQ’s growth.
In 2014, we sold EMTEQ and we started the second halves of our careers. We started STUCK to live out our calling of being empathetic and passionate business advisors, sharing the same “breakthrough strategies” we used to grow EMTEQ.
Now, we aim to help other like-minded entrepreneurs and coaches who truly want to not only accelerate growth, but also sustain that growth.
Now We Share Our Business Growth Techniques
Today, the strategies that enabled EMTEQ to scale are being used with businesses of all different sizes and industries. Beyond purely driving growth, our tools have been used to help with succession planning, training and development, aligning staff, prioritizing initiatives, selling businesses, and that’s just to name a few uses.
We also partner with advisors, consultants, associations, and service providers to provide them with the tools needed to enhance their services. These organizations have taken advantage of our tools by facilitating innovative business peer advisory groups, as well as one-on-one advising.
EMTEQ Revenue Growth
The EMTEQ Story
- Muskego Manufacturing Business of the Year
- Waukesha Business Alliance Manufacturing Business of the Year
- State of Wisconsin Emerging Class Manufacturing Business of the Year
- Future 50 Southeastern Wisconsin Business of the Year
- Master Metal Winner
- Inc 500 Business of the Year
- State of Wisconsin Government Exports Achievement
The STUCK Breakthrough Strategies Process and Platform
Our tools, processes, and strategies are combined in the advising structure known as STUCK Breakthrough Strategies. This structure has companies follow the systematic process of assessing, planning, creating, deploying, and executing a Single-Page Plan. The process focuses heavily on an effective and easy to use monthly execution cycle to keep businesses on track and accountable to their plan.
The monthly cycle enforces accountability and empowerment through the use of the Must Do/Can’t Miss board and the Monthly Action Plan Meeting where the single-page business plan comes to life. Here is where employee engagement, accountability and empowerment is encouraged!
Businesses can follow this process and access the necessary tools through the STUCK Breakthrough Strategies Platform, our cloud-based business management system. Here, owners and leaders have the tools to create and execute their plan.
Advisors choose our process and Platform because it leads to long-term partnership with clients. It also serves as a simple way to get their clients on a proven growth method. They can take advantage of our process, use our tools, incorporate their own, and even white label the software to enhance their brand! STUCK offers many tools for coaches that guides them through the process, helps them enhance their services, or can act as training materials for areas of a business that may be unfamiliar to them.
What Makes Us Different
In addition to the suite of business tools, our team of co-founders at STUCK both advises and invests in the companies we work with.
When we partner with a business owner, we’re actively pursuing innovative solutions to help the business grow. Whether this looks like professional advising or coaching, or making an investment in the future of the company, our forward-thinking team is here to get your business moving.
April 2016
STUCK invests in the Lexington, KY business, MediVet Biologics, a company dedicated to finding and offering regenerative solutions for pets.
October 2016
STUCK invests in Vendura Industries, a solid surfaces manufacturer located near Madison, WI.
October 2017
Located in Milwaukee, BioCut Systems becomes STUCK’s third portfolio company.
Meet the STUCK Business Advisory Team
Paul Schulls
Paul became the Co-Founder, Advisor, Trainer and President of STUCK Coaching to further live out his talents of maximizing the effectiveness of teams and the development of individuals to help them reach their fullest potential.
As an advisor, he enjoys working with his clients and facilitating their strategic planning, deployment, and execution to drive their profit. Throughout his career, he has developed systems, processes and methods used to increase the growth of both businesses and their talent. His proven strategies are made available and used in the STUCK Breakthrough Strategies Platform.
To give back to aspiring entrepreneurs, he is serving as the Program Director for Scale Up Milwaukee’s Growth Accelerator Program held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is excited to offer his expertise and advice to new entrepreneurs.
Prior to STUCK, Paul worked as a clinician and administrator in the healthcare industry for 16 years. Here, he used his talents to integrate and establish goals for his team. He later joined EMTEQ as the Chief Executive of Organizational Development, Human Resources and Continuous Improvement where he created EMTEQ University, an in-house professional development program, and assisted in the creation of the Single-Page Plan.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Cardinal Stritch University.
Jerry Jendusa
Jerry co-founded STUCK Management, STUCK Fund 1, and STUCK Coaching to follow his passion of helping small businesses grow by giving back to entrepreneurs.
Jerry lives to inspire other entrepreneurs who may be stuck to find the courage to reach out for help. He does this by telling the story of how he grew his company, EMTEQ, from a basement start-up to an international 100M business and the lessons he learned along the journey.
Along with advising his companies, he is an active member of the entrepreneurship community. Jerry is a co-chair of Scale Up Milwaukee, an advisory member for the UWM Lubar Center for Entrepreneurship’s Entrepreneurship in Residence Program and a mogul on Milwaukee’s own TV program, Project Pitch It.
Before cofounding the trio of STUCK companies, he was the Co-Founder, majority owner, Chairman, CEO and President at EMTEQ for 18 years. Jerry graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance.
Since the start of EMTEQ, he has won the following awards:
- EY Midwest Entrepreneur of the Year
- EY Finalist National Entrepreneur of the Year
- BizTimes Bravo! Entrepreneur of the Year
- BizStarts 2019 Hall of Fame Inductee
Jim Harasha
Jim co-founded STUCK Management, STUCK Fund 1, and STUCK Coaching to follow his passion of helping small businesses. He serves as an advisor and investor for his businesses and assists in areas including operational excellence, continuous improvement and production flow.
With the development of the STUCK Breakthrough Strategies Platform, Jim used his talents to facilitate its process and value stream mapping, which was essential to turning STUCK’s vision into reality.
Before STUCK, Jim co-founded EMTEQ and used his talents in many roles including being the VP of Operations, Plant Manager, and a resource for IT solutions. He worked there for 18 years and assisted the company in growing from a basement start-up to more than 100M in revenue.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Wisconsin-Platteville in Industrial Technologies and a minor in Computer Sciences.
Morgan Plagenz
Morgan joined STUCK Coaching as their Marketer/Trainer to combine her talents of training and creativity. She has helped with the development, copy, and design of both the STUCK Breakthrough Strategies Platform, STUCK’s website, and their supporting materials. Morgan serves as the administrator and one of the trainers for the STUCK Breakthrough Strategies Platform.
Prior to STUCK, Morgan has taken on and enjoyed roles such as being an assistant manager, trainer, and empathetic resource to others who have had the same struggles and questions as her. Morgan studied and graduated Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing.
The STUCK Mission Statement
“Helping businesses who’ve decided to breakthrough.”
