For some entrepreneurs, inspiration hits in an airport terminal, conference room, or classroom. For Mike Robson, the conversation that put him on the path to his business happened at Burger King.
While Robson was earning his MBA at BYU, he and one of his study group partners were grabbing a burger for lunch. His friend began talking about his job selling ATMs to banks that were installing them in local gas stations. However, Robson’s friend said the ATMs weren’t equipped with a place to hold a modem—the toppers that held the modems were back ordered for several months.
“I worked for a company as an engineer, and I knew I could construct a box that would hold the modem so I offered to build them,” Robson says. “For eight months I worked full time, went to school, and made these ATM toppers.”
But Robson couldn’t sell the toppers to anyone besides his classmate. One day he went into America First Credit Union to sell them; they declined but asked Robson if he could help repair some of their worn out ATMs.
That single job expanded to what is now ATA Services, a nationwide company with sixty employees who maintain ATMs. “The toppers got me into the right segment and then into the right groups,” Robson explains. “I wasn’t planning on going into the ATM business, but I didn’t like the job I had at the time.”
Robson and his company have been recognized for their outstanding service. He has been a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year in Utah. ATA Services was named by Inc. 500 as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in America. For the last two years, Inc. Intercity placed it twelfth in the United States; Utah 100 has also placed it in the top one hundred.
“Getting my MBA helped me broaden my outlook and opportunity,” Robson says. “When I’m faced with a problem or decision I tend to stand at a white board and ask
myself what some of my professors would do. I tend to picture their faces and imagine what they would advise me to do.”
Robson earned his BS in business management from the University of Utah and his MBA from the Marriott School in 1998. He and his wife, Elaine, have five children and live in Sandy, Utah.
