Supplier Diversity
African American MBEs thrive providing services for corporate America

April/May 2007
By Dachell McSween, Contributing Editor

Dynamic business duo

Joseph and Dorothy Richburg are strong supporters of NMSDC and other business associations. In 1987 they and another partner started Keystone Computer Solutions, Inc (Maplewood, MN), an IT consulting firm that provides staff augmentation for Fortune 500 corporations and tech support to companies of all sizes.

The Richburgs first met as students at Ohio University (Athens, OH), where they were both majoring in math and CS. Joseph went on to work Supplier Diversity: African American MBEs thrive providing services for corporate America for several large companies, including Pillsbury and 3M. Dorothy worked for 3M and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

When they started raising a family, Dorothy decided to try home-based contracting work. Then Joseph was laid off, and it seemed the right time to establish Keystone as an incorporated entity, taking advantage of the Richburgs' varied business backgrounds. Keystone has since worked with a number of large companies and organizations, including 3M, General Mills, the State of Minnesota and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Richburgs praise the Minnesota Minority Supplier Diversity Council (MMSDC) for giving them credibility in their bid to work directly with large corporations as a tier one supplier.

"I think customers trust us because we give them high-quality service and they know we'll deliver. The more creative we are with our solutions, the more attractive we are to our customers," says Dorothy Richburg.

"It is beneficial to have a corporate background," adds Joseph Richburg. "Entrepreneurship is a good thing but the entrepreneur should have experience working in corporate America as well, especially when big corporations are your customers."