How We Built a $200M Testing Operation in 12 Months—During a Global Crisis: What SHIELD Illinois Taught Me About Scaling Fast Without Losing Control
In early 2021, I stepped into a blank whiteboard and a statewide mandate: build a COVID testing infrastructure from scratch that could keep Illinois schools open, businesses running, and communities safe.
We had no team. No systems. No vehicles. No labs.
Within 12 months, we had 1,900+ testing sites, 13 labs, and $200M+ in revenue.
This is the story of how we scaled one of the fastest-growing operational infrastructures in Illinois history—what worked, what broke, and what I’d do again in a heartbeat.
#The Problem Schools were shutting down. Courts were frozen. Testing turnarounds were 72–96 hours—far too slow to make real-time decisions. The state needed a solution fast. One that was accurate, scalable, and cheap.
#The Mission
Launch a testing program that could handle 200K+ tests per week.
Build from zero. Move at startup speed. Operate with government-level accountability.
#The Playbook
- Logistics in 90 Days
- Built a statewide network from scratch: 50+ vehicles, air transport, and sample routing across a 200×400 mile range.
- Opened 1,900+ testing sites, including schools, courthouses, businesses, and community centers.
- Lab Infrastructure
- Launched 12 labs in 6 months.
- Oversaw construction of a $3.5M high-throughput lab in just 60 days.
- Average test result time dropped to 16 hours—faster than most private labs.
- Team Scale
- Grew headcount from 30 to 350+ employees and 1,000+ contractors in four months.
- Built 24/7 operational support and rapid onboarding systems for field teams and lab staff.
- Tech Enablement
- Deployed CRM for 2,000+ clients in under two weeks.
- Built real-time reporting dashboards for labs, logistics, billing, and client services.
- Automated error tracking and sample rejection processes to reduce lab rework.
#The Results
- 6.5M+ tests processed in one year (~12% of all tests in Illinois)
- 1,900+ collection sites
- 13 labs
- $250M in state funding secured
- 200,000+ tests per week capacity
- Enabled safe reopening of public schools, court systems, and major employers
- Set the gold standard for saliva-based testing across multiple states
#What I Learned
- Speed matters. But only if you build the infrastructure to support it.
- Simplicity scales. Our ability to normalize processes, train fast, and roll out repeatable playbooks was a game-changer.
- Crisis is clarity. When everything is broken, focus is easier. Use that urgency to build clean systems that will last.
- Ops is the engine. Strategy matters. But execution wins the war.
Want the playbook?
I now help other companies scale fast (without breaking things) as an operator, advisor, or builder.
Let’s talk: len@lenmusielak.com