‘I work for U’

Lena Trudeau has a pat answer for people who ask where she works. “I work for U,” she says. “That always starts a conversation.”

Trudeau, CEO of Arlington-based U.Group (formerly Byte­Cubed), wanted customers “up front and center” when the company rebranded in February after three acquisitions last year. “Although we have a lot of capability in the technology arena, we deploy for problems that people have,” she says. “We have a mix of technology, design, data science and consulting.”

Last year, ByteCubed acquired Chief, a well-known creative firm in Washington, D.C. “We also made two smaller acquisitions,” Trudeau says. “That allowed us to expand our emerging technology.”

Founded in 2010, U.Group now has close to 300 employees working in its Crystal City headquarters and offices in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Ore. “We also have teams that are embedded in client sites all across the Washington, D.C., area. Most are in Northern Virginia,” Trudeau says.

The company started seeing a jump in revenue in 2013. “We had gotten to the level of size and capability that we were able to differentiate ourselves with the quality of our technology and delivery,” Trudeau says. “We had organic growth through expansion of our customers. We grew with customers that took a chance on us when we were smaller.”

Last year the company was listed No. 183 on the Inc. 5000 of the fastest-growing private companies in America. It was the firm’s third time on the list.