But one other element also helped: As the son of Filipino immigrants, Jaurigue won his first Navy contract in 1989 partly because the Defense Department was looking to expand its use of minority-owned businesses.
Jaurigue has come a long way since. By 1995, Sabre had annual revenue of $7 million and a staff of 55. Fifteen years later, it has grown by another order of magnitude: Sabre now employs more than 600 people around the country, and last year had revenue of $75 million.
Jaurigue plans to discuss his own and his company's growth at the National BDPA Technology Conference that starts Wednesday in Center City, sponsored by a group founded in Philadelphia 35 years ago as the Black Data Processing Associates.
Today, BDPA is known chiefly by its initials and embraces a broader version of its original mission. With 55 chapters and thousands of members, it seeks to be a "catalyst for professional growth and technical development" in the information-technology industry, with a special focus on career development for minorities.
Jaurigue, who is not a member, said he would offer a straightforward message in a panel discussion at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.
From Jaurigue's perspective, the panel is aptly titled "Opportunities, Risks and Rewards: How to Avoid Becoming a Failed Business Statistic." He said success was less about how you get your start than about what you make of your opportunities - those that come your way as well as those you create.
On both counts, Jaurigue has done quite a bit with his.
