Unending drive helps R. J. Martino to achieve success

April 28 - May 4, 2014

By Becca Bona

Sitting behind his desk at the iProv headquarters located in Little Rock, company president R. J. Martino said of his field, “You have to love the changing of technology, otherwise you’ve picked the wrong industry.”

Keeping up with changes has been a key part of growing iProv, a marketing and IT business he started during his undergraduate career at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. 

With a father in the military, Martino would have probably never landed at UALR if his parents had not settled down in Arkansas when he was eight. During his time at Bryant High School he was introduced to a fairly new program called East Lab. 

“It’s a really phenomenal program and at that time technology wasn’t rampantly available like it is now,” he explained. “East gave me a great exposure to technology … I saw things and I wanted to know how they worked.”

Even in high school, Martino exhibited his unending drive. At age 17 he took a job as a network administrator for a local media agency. The experience, along with his personality and his love of gadgetry were elements he took into consideration when it came time for college. 

Originally, Martino had his sights set for an out-of-state school, but UALR offered him a great opportunity he couldn’t turn down. 

“It wasn’t second choice, UALR gave me an opportunity with the scholarship they offered,” he detailed. 

Once on campus, Martino became a part of the pilot program known as East Lab, the college equivalent to what he was exposed to in high school. 

“It added to my ability to get exposed to new technology. In addition to that I was exposed to people who were just like me.”

During this time Martino started iProv with his sister Roxanne. The company would morph into what he thought would solely be a “college job.”

He approached businesses, asking questions by showing that he could create custom programs for them based on their pay points, thereby maximizing their productivity in marketing.

Next, he told fellow students and professors at UALR about the venture. “I just naturally spun into work,” he explained, as word of his business traveled via referrals. 

Working hard on his business, he also worked hard on his education. “In the meantime I continued to develop my education, UALR had the opportunity for me to do that. I got involved in the computer science program … and I was part of the finance program too.”

The financial edge paid off immediately, and Martino began putting the profits from iProv into real estate investments. 

As he began to acquire a number of small units, he started setting his sights higher. In order to obtain larger units, he would need investors, and to entice investors, he felt he needed more scholarly credentials.

“I decided that I was going to go to law school. The idea was that this law degree, although I’m not going to practice, would give me the credibility that I needed.”

Starting in 2007, he hit the books at Bowen School of Law, a few years after he graduated from UALR. Unfortunately for his real estate ventures shortly after, “the market flipped upside down.” 

At that point, iProv had seven employees. Martino was a full time law student as well as heading iProv. The market setback meant that he and his sister had to take the company back down to the two of them.

Nevertheless, Martino powered through law school, as he said, “I only had a year left of law school, so I thought I should finish it, I really enjoyed (it).”

He did so and passed the bar, and these days, he puts energy into iProv, improving on the business model all the time. He offers a two-tiered service. 

“We are basically the Internet marketing department for medium to small businesses. As opposed to paying someone to market by the hour, you pay us one flat rate, and we are doing all of your internet marketing.”

His business model works to align the goals of a company with his by going with flat rates. That way, when problems arise, “we’re actually fixing the problem so that it stops recurring ... as opposed to putting a band aid on the fix.”

Although Martino likes to focus locally here in Arkansas, he has clients all over the US including California, Texas, Michigan and Missouri, to name a few.

Looking back on his experience, he is glad he landed in Little Rock. At UALR he was able to develop some lasting relationships, specifically with Dr. Mary Good. 

He said remembered her tremendous help in the early days of iProv: “I visited with her and spent a lot of time telling her what we were trying to do. She mentored me all the way from day one and all the way through. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor and it’s very rare that you’re able to stumble into that.”

Martino believes in the impact of education. In his personal experience it’s helped him greatly in his ventures. 

“The want and the passion and the leadership, all of those things are super important, and I don’t think I’d be here if it weren’t for those things developing along the way, but it all starts with education. The education that I got at UALR is the most valuable that I could have asked for.”

Having learned much from his leadership role with iProv he had this to say to young job seekers: “What business owners want are leadership skills. … it’s a learned skill, often there are ways to develop leadership qualities like being in charge of a student club or starting a website that didn’t exist in the past.”

Business is going great, and Martino is glad he ended up in Little Rock.

“I love it here. I want to see the continued development of downtown especially.” He says he sees a synergy there that he didn’t feel before. “That synergy creates an even better business environment, and creates overall a stronger economic environment too,” he said.

In terms of keeping up with technology, Martino laughs, and details the fact that 10 years ago Facebook was naught. 

“As far as keeping up, it’s hard. There’s so many new technical applications all the time, you’ve got to stay involved.”

On top of that, he suggests paying close attention to your competitors. 

“It’s counterintuitive, but those competitors or enemies, often those are the guys that you’re going to learn a lot from.”

When not working, Martino spends time with his family. His wife teaches kindergarten at Baker elementary, and the two have a 21-month-old, with a second baby on the way in June.