Take me out to the ball game

At the Tampa Bay Rays' opening day, there were more than avid baseball fans playing hookie in the stands — there was an entire company.

As a reward for breaking a sales record, Oldsmar-based Vology shut its headquarters and gave each of its employees a ticket to the Rays opening day game April 2.

The reward came as the company, which resells new and pre-owned networking equipment, closed its best month in history in March. It was also the latest example of the company's “work hard, play hard” mantra that emphasizes teamwork to help drive growth and keep employees engaged.

Indeed, speaking at a recent event, company founder and CEO Barry Shevlin told the crowd that Vology's corporate culture has played a large role in growing the firm from the back of his truck to a $90 million company.

Although he admits his business was built more on hustle than vision in its early years, Shevlin says having a great team has always helped steer it through the rough patches: “Culture beats strategy,” he says, noting that even visitors to the firm have commented on his employees' enthusiasm. “If you have a high-performance culture, you can do anything.”