Juan Nieves has always had a penchant for technology. Whether it was begging his dad to purchase parts he read about in catalogs so he could game with his friends or becoming the go-to guy at university for tech help, most of his life has revolved around technology in one way or another. So, it makes sense that today he’s the founder and managing partner of Virtual Pulsar, an IT firm dedicated to helping their San Antonio clients, mostly in the healthcare field, navigate compliance, cybersecurity, and all their other technology needs.
Trajectory Into Tech
Growing up, Juan loved gaming. “I was a military brat, so my family moved around often,” he recalls. “When we finally landed in San Antonio, I grew to love gaming because it was fun, and I could connect with my friends—new and old. I always wanted to play the games as fast as I could, so I would read the catalogs to see what parts I needed to achieve certain things. I remember constantly asking my dad to buy me parts because I knew it would improve my experience. Over time, I learned a lot about how the technology worked, and my friends would always ask me questions.”
This continued well into Juan’s young adulthood as he moved on to university. “I had a side hustle in university where I would buy network cards and install them for people around campus. I didn’t charge much, but I learned a ton about networking, and this led to me being known as the go-to guy for tech help. Sometimes even the professors would need my assistance,” says Juan.
But, interestingly, going to university for IT wasn’t Juan’s initial plan. “Technology has always been a passion of mine, but I actually wanted to become a lawyer,” he says. “That was until one of my professors gave me some advice that steered me back towards IT. He said, ‘They’ll teach you law in law school, and that will always be there, but you have to do what you like to do now.’ Though simple advice, I took it to heart, decided to major in computer science, and never looked back.”
Upon graduating from Saint Mary’s University, Juan went on to receive his master’s in management of technology from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2005. From there, it was time to find a career in IT. “I ended up taking a bunch of random IT positions, but it wasn’t until I landed a job at my previous position in 2011 that I started to settle in. Things were OK, and I worked at the company for over eight years. But by the end of it, I could see the writing on the wall that things weren’t going the way they should be,” Juan says. “Customers were becoming unhappy with the complacency, lack of responsiveness, and untimely resolutions they were experiencing—some even left. So, I decided to look for other positions.”
You’d think this was when he decided to strike out on his own, but not quite. “I started job hunting and had an opportunity to start another position, but at the 11th hour, it fell through—after I had already put my resignation in. At this point, I figured, ‘I’ve helped build this other company for eight-plus years. I know how to do this.’” And thus, his journey to create Virtual Pulsar had begun.
Building Virtual Pulsar
When Juan started Virtual Pulsar in 2019, he and his wife had four young children. “It was a gamble starting a business with a young family, but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t take the chance,” he says. “My parents gave me $5,000 to kick-start my business, and from there, I slowly started building up my clientele. Many people I worked with previously reached out to me, so that was how I landed some of my first clients.”
Today, Virtual Pulsar has expanded to several more employees and is consistently hitting some impressive revenue goals. “We’ve had 20% year-over-year growth since our inception,” Juan relates. “Not to mention, in four years, we’ve already exceeded the revenue of what we did at the other company in eight years, so you could say it’s going well.”
Dedication to Company Culture and Client Care
But it’s not just about the numbers for Juan; it’s also about building a strong company culture. “Some of the hardest things have actually been finding the right people and setting and managing expectations. It took some time, but now we have a fantastic group who are always excited to come into work,” he says.
“At Virtual Pulsar, two of our core values are going the extra mile and delivering on our promises, and you need the right team to be able to do that. We mainly work with companies in the healthcare industry, as well as the legal field, and I want these clients to feel like we truly care about them and their success.”
This dedication to client care can be seen throughout every corner of Virtual Pulsar, including the name itself. “The pulsar is the lighthouse star of the universe. So, when brainstorming a name, I wanted something in the virtual space that would let people know I was like a lighthouse for technology. Combining the two, I came up with Virtual Pulsar,” explains Juan. “I also didn’t want a name that would limit the business in any way. We help with everything from phones to internet to computer security. In other words, we’re the experts who bring the IT light for companies in the dark.”
Looking ahead, Juan plans to continue scaling his business to help more people with their technology needs without losing the personal touch his company has become known for. “It’s not all about revenue, but I would love to become a $5 million or $6 million company over the next few years. However, regardless of our sales trajectories, companies will continue needing robust IT services, and we’ll be there to help implement technology solutions to help their businesses succeed.”
Although Juan has come a long way from the young boy obsessed with gaming, he’s never lost this passion for technology; instead, he’s turned it into a highly successful, multi-decade career culminating in Virtual Pulsar.
To learn more about Virtual Pulsar, go here.
