Since founding Launch 3 Telecom in 2004, David Zoldan has built the company into a $25m+ U.S. telecom infrastructure business serving customers nationally. Under his leadership, Launch 3 has evolved beyond traditional equipment distribution to provide wireless infrastructure, logistics, and communications equipment solutions, while positioning itself to support the growing physical infrastructure demands of data centers, fiber networks, cloud computing, and AI. In this CEO Monthly profile, Zoldan discusses the principles behind Launch 3’s growth, the importance of supply-chain execution, and the opportunities emerging at the intersection of telecommunications and the next generation of connectivity.
You founded Launch 3 Telecom in 2004. What inspired you to start the company, and what did you see in the telecommunications market that others may have overlooked?
David Zoldan: When I founded Launch 3 Telecom in 2004, I saw an opportunity to build a company around something that was becoming increasingly important to telecommunications: the ability to execute reliably on the physical side of network deployment.
At the time, there was a tremendous amount of attention being placed on the technologies themselves, but every network ultimately depends on physical infrastructure, equipment, logistics, and the ability to get the right materials to the right place at the right time. I saw an opportunity to build a business that could bridge that gap for customers.
What started as a relatively focused telecommunications business has evolved considerably over the past two decades. The underlying principle, however, has remained the same: understand what customers need to accomplish, and build the capabilities necessary to help them get there efficiently.
Launch 3 has grown from a startup into a $25 million-plus telecom infrastructure company serving customers nationally. What have been the most important decisions or principles behind that growth?
David Zoldan: The biggest factor has been staying close to our customers and being willing to evolve with them.
Launch 3 is now a $25 million-plus U.S. telecom infrastructure company serving customers nationally, but that growth didn’t come from trying to become everything to everyone. It came from understanding where our customers were experiencing challenges and building solutions around those needs.
We have also placed a tremendous amount of importance on execution. In infrastructure, customers don’t just need a product. They need reliability, responsiveness, availability, and someone who understands the urgency of their project.
Over time, we’ve expanded our capabilities while maintaining that same customer-focused mindset. Growth is important, but sustainable growth comes from building relationships and consistently delivering on what you promise.
Launch 3 specializes in wireless network deployment, logistics, and communications equipment distribution. How have customer needs evolved since you first started the company, and how has Launch 3 evolved with them?
David Zoldan: The scale, complexity, and speed of infrastructure deployment have changed dramatically.
When we started, the telecommunications environment was very different. Today, customers are dealing with increasingly sophisticated wireless networks, fiber deployments, data centers, cloud infrastructure, and the physical requirements created by artificial intelligence.
That evolution has changed what customers expect from their infrastructure partners. They need more than access to equipment. They need a partner who understands the entire process—from sourcing and inventory to logistics and deployment.
We’ve evolved accordingly. Our role increasingly involves helping customers solve infrastructure and supply-chain challenges, not simply selling them a piece of equipment. The closer we can get to understanding the project and its requirements, the more value we can provide.
The telecommunications industry is increasingly intersecting with data centers, cloud infrastructure, and artificial intelligence. How do you see these trends reshaping the demand for physical infrastructure?
David Zoldan: AI and cloud computing are making it very clear that digital infrastructure ultimately depends on physical infrastructure.
There is a tendency to think of AI and cloud as primarily software or computing stories, but none of it exists in isolation. Behind every data center, network, and AI application is an enormous physical ecosystem of fiber, cabling, connectivity, power, cable management, equipment, and other infrastructure components.
As data centers become larger and AI workloads increase, the requirements for connectivity and infrastructure are also increasing. We’re seeing a convergence between what traditionally would have been considered telecommunications infrastructure and what is now part of the broader data-center ecosystem.
For companies like Launch 3, that’s an important opportunity. Our experience in telecommunications infrastructure gives us a strong foundation for participating in this next phase of physical infrastructure development.
Products such as cable tray, fiber, cabling, connectivity hardware, and other ancillary components may not receive the same attention as the technology they support. Why are these products so critical to modern network and data-center build-outs?
David Zoldan: The most important infrastructure components are not always the ones that receive the most attention.
You can have the most advanced networking technology in the world, but if the physical infrastructure supporting it isn’t properly designed, sourced, installed, and managed, the system can’t perform the way it is supposed to.
Cable tray, fiber, cabling, connectivity hardware, and related components are foundational to the infrastructure. They enable connectivity, organization, scalability, and reliability.
As networks and data centers become more complex, these components become even more important. The physical layer has to be capable of supporting the technology today while also allowing for expansion tomorrow.
That’s one of the reasons I believe the physical infrastructure opportunity is sometimes underestimated. Technology gets the headlines, but infrastructure makes the technology possible.
As infrastructure projects become larger and timelines become more aggressive, how important are inventory availability, logistics, and supply-chain execution to keeping projects on schedule?
David Zoldan: They are absolutely critical.
Infrastructure projects operate on schedules, and a delay involving one relatively small component can have consequences throughout an entire project. Having the right inventory available and being able to move it efficiently can make a significant difference.
This is particularly important as projects become larger and deployment timelines become more aggressive. Customers don’t necessarily have the luxury of waiting weeks for a component that is holding up a larger installation.
That’s where our logistics and distribution capabilities become valuable. We focus on understanding the customer’s requirements and executing against them, from inventory management and warehousing to transportation and delivery. It’s not simply about having inventory somewhere in a warehouse. It’s about making sure the customer has what they need, when and where they need it.
Supply-chain execution is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage in infrastructure.
What differentiates Launch 3 from a traditional equipment distributor, and how does your approach to customer relationships contribute to the company’s growth?
David Zoldan: I don’t think of Launch 3 as simply a traditional distributor.
Distribution is certainly an important part of what we do, but our relationship with customers goes beyond moving products from one party to another. We try to understand the project, the challenges the customer is facing, and what needs to happen for them to be successful.
That creates a different type of relationship. We’re able to become more of a problem-solving partner rather than simply another vendor.
Our customers are often operating under significant time and execution pressures. Being responsive, understanding their requirements, and finding ways to help them overcome obstacles is what creates long-term relationships.
Ultimately, our growth has followed the value we create for our customers. If we consistently make their jobs easier and help them execute more effectively, the business relationship naturally becomes stronger.
As CEO, how do you balance the need to continuously innovate and pursue new opportunities with maintaining the customer-centric approach that helped build the company?
David Zoldan: For me, innovation starts with listening.
I don’t believe innovation necessarily means constantly changing what you do. It means identifying where customers’ needs are changing and determining how the company can respond.
That’s particularly important in telecommunications and infrastructure because the market continues to evolve. Wireless, fiber, data centers, cloud infrastructure, and AI are creating new requirements and new opportunities.
We want to be forward-looking without losing sight of the fundamentals that built Launch 3. Those fundamentals are customer relationships, responsiveness, execution, and accountability.
The goal is to expand our capabilities without losing the culture that made customers want to work with us in the first place.
What lessons have you learned as an entrepreneur over the past two decades that have fundamentally shaped the way you lead Launch 3 today?
David Zoldan: One of the biggest lessons is that consistency matters more than short-term wins.
Over two decades, you experience strong markets, challenging markets, changing technologies, and unexpected obstacles. You learn that you can’t build a durable company by reacting to every individual change. You need to have a clear understanding of who you are, what you do well, and the value you provide.
I’ve also learned the importance of accountability. When you make a commitment to a customer, you have to take ownership of delivering on it. That sounds simple, but it’s incredibly important in a business where customers are depending on you to keep projects moving.
Finally, I’ve learned that you have to remain willing to evolve. The company I founded in 2004 is not the same company Launch 3 is today, and that’s a good thing. The market has changed, and we’ve changed with it while maintaining the core principles that have guided us from the beginning.
Looking ahead, what opportunities do you see for Launch 3 as investments in wireless networks, fiber, data centers, and AI infrastructure continue to accelerate?
David Zoldan: I believe we’re entering an especially significant period for physical infrastructure.
The continued expansion of wireless networks and fiber is happening alongside enormous investment in data centers, cloud infrastructure, and AI. All of these areas require physical connectivity and supporting infrastructure.
For Launch 3, that creates an opportunity to build on the capabilities we’ve developed over more than two decades and apply them to a much broader infrastructure market.
We’re particularly interested in the convergence taking place between telecommunications and data-center infrastructure. The underlying requirements—fiber, cabling, connectivity, cable management, logistics, equipment, and reliable supply chains—are increasingly interconnected.
Our objective is to continue positioning Launch 3 as a company that can help customers navigate that physical infrastructure layer as these markets expand.
The next era of connectivity is going to require enormous physical investment. We see an opportunity to be part of that build-out and to continue growing alongside the customers and industries driving it.
