Giving Without Fail

For two years, Mike continued to seek opportunities to learn about modern technology and yearned for more chances to work with digital electronics. His desires only grew when he spent time with software companies that had technology not yet taught at Texas A&M. When his old lab partner, Dr. Wright, asked him to join the electronic systems engineering technology (ESET) program, Mike didn’t hesitate to switch majors halfway through college. "The last two years of college in ESET were fantastic,” he said. “Dr. Wright continued to be a mentor to me and gave me the hands-on learning opportunities I was looking for.”  

Despite not being on the engineering quad full time like Mike, Sandra focused on advanced mathematics and computer science within her education degree. She found work for herself throughout college by working as an accountant and moved to Houston after graduating to look for work. That’s when her call to Mike transformed into entering the business of life together.  

The Pair to Start Paragon 

Four months into their marriage, the Wilkinsons started Paragon with two guiding engineering principles: follow a process and diligently document everything you do. Beginning in medical product development, Paragon grew exponentially.  

So, what does Paragon do? The company designs electronic products that are computer based, but you might not think of them as computers at first. For example, when you think about your car, you don’t think it’s a computer, and you’re right; it’s not a computer. It’s more than 150 computers. “Our business is a little different than the PC world because what we work on actually touches people, whether that be a thermostat in your home or a medical device,” Mike shared.  

The company has worked on insulin pumps, cardiac monitors and a wide range of invasive surgical equipment. It has also made a transmission controller for Chrysler, diagnostic equipment for almost every brand of car on the market, trail cameras for hunters, security cameras for homes, dog tracking collars and even laser tag program coding. The vast majority of the company’s projects have a high reliability requirement, meaning it has no option but to work. “Unlike your PC or video chat software that decides to be cranky some days, we work on products that aren’t allowed to fail,” Mike said. “There’s no reset button, there’s no blue screen—it just has to work.”  

This “no fail” mindset seems to be a common theme for the couple, who admit that starting a brand-new business together as newlyweds was a bold choice. “Don’t do that,” Sandra laughed. “It is very hard on a marriage to go into business together, let alone so shortly after getting married. We were naïve enough to think we couldn’t fail.” For 30 years, the couple worked without fail to build Paragon up as an industry leader. In the fall of 2021, Paragon was acquired by TTI Inc, a Berkshire Hathaway company involved with Texas A&M’s industrial distribution program and one of the four largest components distributors in the world.  

Education, Entrepreneurship and Engineering 

Before the acquisition, the Wilkinsons’ portion of Paragon was donated to a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) to provide future support to several of their favorite organizations, including Boy Scouts, their local church and Texas A&M. The trust currently pays the Wilkinsons quarterly payments that they use for living expenses while the fund continues to grow. After their lifetimes, the remaining funds allocated to Texas A&M will support three areas: an innovation, product development and entrepreneurship endowment within the Engineering Technology Industrial Distribution Department; a McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship Excellence Endowment within Mays Business School; and their existing fund, the Gaddis Girls STEM Camp Endowed Scholarship in the School of Education and Human Development.