Toya Jones was intrigued as the owner of Sagis Diagnostics relayed the problems he was having shipping supplies.
Jones, who was working as a sales representative for the Houston company, had an idea.
鈥淚 asked him, 鈥楬ow much do you pay them?,鈥 Jones said. 鈥淗e told me and I said, 鈥業 can do that.鈥欌
Jones, 48, took a few weeks to study the transportation business and came back to his supervisor with a proposal.
鈥淚 put on a presentation for him,鈥 Jones recalled. 鈥淎fter he listened, he said he would fire the company on Friday and I could start on Monday.鈥
Jones鈥 plan led to the founding of Sagis Transport LLC in Sugar Land.
Jones started the company in 2017 with four workers and it has grown to over 300 employees in 43 states.
Jones鈥 company has been honored by Texas A&M鈥檚 McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship the last two years as one of the Aggie 100, which honors the top 100 businesses owned or operated by A&M graduates throughout the world.
Jones鈥 company was ranked No. 10 in 2023 and No. 20 this year by percentage of compound annual growth in sales or revenues (net of returns), over a three-year period.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing,鈥 said Jones, who still works as a sales representative for Sagis Diagnostics. 鈥淚 was in the right place at the right time and it all worked. I鈥檓 actually super-good at it and I know everything now.鈥
Jones鈥 success in the business world mirrors what he achieved in athletics in high school at Refugio, and on the collegiate level at Texas A&M.
Jones won a record 17 medals, including 13 gold medals, at the state track & field meet while leading the Bobcats to three consecutive state championships.
He also started at wide receiver and in the secondary for the Refugio football team.
Jones played football and competed in track & field at Texas A&M. He was a member of the Aggies鈥 record-setting 400-meter relay team.
His most memorable play in football came in the 1998 Big 12 championship game when he tackled a Kansas State receiver short of the goal line on the final play of the fourth quarter, and the Aggies went on to a 36-33 victory in double overtime to win their only Big 12 title.
Jones was inducted in the Texas Track & Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2020.
Jones鈥 company has kept him busy as he travels around the country to set up the business and hire a manager to run it.
He was so occupied with his business that he flew back from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston on Monday, and wasn鈥檛 able to do his Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve.
But the training Jones did in athletics has helped him recognize the cost of success.
鈥淎s the lab has grown, my company has grown with the lab,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he award was very humbling, but it took a lot of hard work to get it.鈥
