TULSA, Okla. — Twenty years ago, Lori Nalley, founder and CEO of Tiger Natural Gas, worked as a clerk at an oil and gas marketing company in Tulsa. As she watched large companies developing minority supplier programs, Nalley – a Native American – saw a chance to do something on her own.
“I was a single mother of a young son at the time and was looking to the future,” she said.
Beginning with a spare bedroom office, Nalley founded Tiger, named after her mother, a Creek Indian.
With the natural gas market deregulated in many states, Nalley’s low-overhead company provided large businesses with natural gas at an approximately 10 percent cost savings.
Nalley won her first bid, and within a few years she managed clients such as Wal-Mart and PepsiCo. “Once we started doing business with Wal-Mart, it opened a lot of doors,” she said.
“PepsiCo has been working with Tiger Natural Gas since the early ’90s, when natural gas was first deregulated,” said Daniel Lopez, energy procurement manager, PepsiCo Inc. “Tiger’s attention to detail has helped control overhead costs. Additionally, their pricing is consistently competitive and they provide flexibility in their contract terms.”
Nalley’s spare-bedroom startup has grown from $2.1 million in sales back in 1991, to $275 million in 2010. Nalley believes Tiger’s superior customer service keeps their clients loyal, year after year. “I treat people and companies the way I would like to be treated.”
“We do customized invoicing and different pricing structures for business,” she said. “We’ll even analyze our customers’ natural gas use to see if there are ways we can save them money.”
The company, with about 40 employees, has offices in Tulsa, Denver, and Pittsburgh. Customers include PepsiCo, Tropicana, Quaker Oats, and NASA, plus over 23,000 additional customers ranging from national retail chains to restaurants, hospitals, and hotels.
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