Press & Media Kit

Everything a Newsroom
Needs, In One Place

Bios in every length, the founder timeline, a fact sheet with the claims pre-verified, and talking points that survive editing. For interviews, podcasts, panels, and profiles: use what's here, or write to lu@itcustomsolution.com for anything else.

Boilerplate · One Paragraph

Press Bio

Olufela "Lu" Fagbure is the Founder and Director of IT Custom Solution LLC, a New York based, certified Minority Business Enterprise delivering cybersecurity, cloud, managed IT, and staffing to government and enterprise clients, with delivered engagements for City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri and Rensselaer County, New York. He is also the builder of the GovBid AI product suite, software that helps small businesses find, bid on, and manage government contracts, with three products live: GovBid AI, OpsTicket, and OnboardIQ. Before founding ITC, Fagbure spent a decade in enterprise IT and co-founded two earlier ventures, including the internationally covered luxury leather goods brand Alex Folzi, shown at Africa Fashion Week NYC in 2011. He studied arts and international business at the University of Alberta and has lived in more than ten cities across three continents.


Short Forms

Bios by Length

50 Words · Introductions

Olufela "Lu" Fagbure is the Founder and Director of IT Custom Solution LLC, a certified Minority Business Enterprise serving government and enterprise, and builder of the GovBid AI product suite. His work centers on one mission: helping small and minority-owned businesses win government contracts.

100 Words · Programs & Panels

Olufela "Lu" Fagbure is the Founder and Director of IT Custom Solution LLC, a New York based certified Minority Business Enterprise delivering cybersecurity, cloud, managed IT, and staffing to government and enterprise clients. He also builds the GovBid AI product suite: software that helps small businesses find, bid on, and deliver government contracts, with three products live. A decade inside enterprise IT preceded the firm; a luxury fashion label and an on-demand auto care startup preceded that. Raised across three continents and named in the Yoruba tradition, he speaks on procurement access, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunity.

Podcast Intro · Conversational

Lu Fagbure registered his firm on SAM.gov, earned MBE certification, wrote his own bids, and won government work in two states. Then he built the software so the next small firm could do it faster. He's the founder of IT Custom Solution and the GovBid AI suite, a former enterprise IT practitioner, a one-time fashion entrepreneur, and the son of a businesswoman who ran boardrooms while he watched from underneath the table.

250 and 500 word versions, the speaker bio, and the government procurement bio are available on request, or in the full kit below.


The Record

Founder Timeline

2010
Alex Folzi, co-founded

Luxury leather goods brand built with twin brother Fola: vintage-inspired trunks, briefcases, and satchels. Shown at Africa Fashion Week NYC 2011; covered internationally between 2010 and 2014.

2010 – 2020
Corporate enterprise IT

A decade embedded in large organizations: infrastructure, systems engineering, operations, and technical leadership. The practitioner years that everything since is built on.

2016 – 2022
KarBoi, co-founded

On-demand mobile car care startup serving New York: app-booked wash, detailing, repair, and maintenance with doorstep pickup. Operated alongside a full corporate career.

2020 – 21
IT Custom Solution LLC, launched

Operations began in 2020; the LLC was formally organized in April 2021. Independent IT services firm serving government, education, and commercial clients. NYC MBE certified, SAM.gov registered. Verified past performance: City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri and Rensselaer County, New York.

2024 – 2026
The product suite ships

GovBid AI (agent-assisted bid discovery and proposal drafting), OpsTicket (scenario-based IT skills assessment), and OnboardIQ (contractor onboarding) go live. DeliverOps opens early access. 8(a) application submitted 2026, under SBA review; NMSDC application submitted 2026.


Verified Claims Only

Fact Sheet

Full nameOlufela Alexander Fagbure ("Lu"; the name is Yoruba: Olu, chief or head, and Fẹlá, to expand or multiply)
TitleFounder & Director, IT Custom Solution LLC
CompanyIT Custom Solution LLC · operating since 2020, LLC formed 2021 · New York
CertificationsNYC MBE certified · SAM.gov registered · 8(a) application submitted 2026, under SBA review · NMSDC application submitted 2026
Past performanceCity Utilities of Springfield, Missouri · Rensselaer County, New York
Products liveGovBid AI (trygovbidai.com) · OpsTicket (tryopsticket.com) · OnboardIQ (tryonboardiq.com) · DeliverOps in early access
EducationUniversity of Alberta
Background10+ years enterprise IT · co-founder, Alex Folzi (2010) · co-founder, KarBoi (2016)
BasedNew York · has lived in 10+ cities across three continents
Contactlu@itcustomsolution.com · felafagbure.com/#contact

Quotable

Talking Points

On access

"Government is the largest customer on earth, and most small businesses have never sold it a paperclip. That's not a talent gap. It's a translation gap."

On the path

"I didn't study procurement. I registered the account, wrote the bids, lost some, won some, and built software out of the scar tissue."

On AI, honestly

"Agent-assisted tools give a five-person firm the back office of a fifty-person firm. They don't give it judgment. That part stays human, and it should."

On legacy

"My mother ran rooms for 25 years while I watched from under the conference table. Everything I build is downstream of that education."


Archive

Earlier Chapters · 2010 – 2014

Before government contracting, there was fashion. Alex Folzi, the luxury leather goods label co-founded with his twin brother Fola, was shown at Africa Fashion Week NYC 2011 and covered by African and diaspora fashion press across three continents between 2010 and 2014, including features on the brand's vintage-inspired trunk craftsmanship. The label is presented here as the first chapter of the founder record, dated honestly, because the through-line matters: design discipline learned in fashion shows up in every product shipped since.

Africa Fashion Week NYC 2011 International fashion press 2010 – 2014 Co-founded with Fola Fagbure

Photography

Headshots & Usage

A current editorial headshot set is in production. Until it ships, photography is provided per request: write to lu@itcustomsolution.com with your outlet, format, and deadline. Name in print: Olufela "Lu" Fagbure on first reference, Fagbure or Lu after.

Media Inquiry Speaking Topics