GROW UP

In his welcome address to ISPCON attendees, the guy in charge of ISPCON assesses the state of the ISP industry.

by Jon Price Managing Director ISPCON Author ISPCON blog CEO The Golden Group [October 28, 2004]

Welcome to ISPCON! If there's anything I'd like you to take away from the show this Fall (besides a free car, some quality swag and a stack of business cards), it's this:

GROW UP

A few years back, thousands of companies gasped for air as their businesses were ground into pebbles. Around that same time, the seeds of ideas for new businesses were beginning to get startup funds from the remaining balance of a 401k, a family member pitched in, cash flow was managed carefully and maybe a second mortgage helped to bridge the gap to get things rolling or keep the idea alive.

Today is tomorrow
Fast forward to today and those carefully nurtured ideas and revitalized remnants of the bubble era business have established or re-established themselves as real businesses with promise. Once again, we are poised for growth. There's simply no stopping us if and only if we clearly define our future and focus on taking action to achieve those goals.

Look around at the people who are involved in the shows again—in the hallways, on the keynote stage, in the exhibit hall and moderating panels—feels a bit like 1996 or 1992 again, doesn't it? You will see plenty of faces from the past and hundreds of new ones around you who once again have the fire in their eyes.

There are hard-earned dollars ready to be put to work and plenty of money sniffing around for smart investments or the next roll-up strategy. Promising technologies, new opportunities and profound service concepts are as abundant as the customer prospects for those services.

Today you can add wireless, VoIP, email security, remote storage or video services to your portfolio and find a plethora of small to medium-sized businesses and bandwidth-deprived consumers nearby. But these things are tiny bells and whistles hanging off a little startup unless we can GROW UP, be professional and achieve our incredible potential.

Today we begin to find out who's in this for the long haul and who is capable of growing up to play in the pros. Today, we begin finding out who the jokers are that stumbled into the right place at the right time three or four years ago. Today, we begin testing the true substance and scalability of those small ideas and networks, the early products that made it this far and who will be involved as we move beyond the startup or "reset" mode.

Party on K Street
The key today is to set your sights on the horizon and start figuring out what's going to grow the business, grow the client base, grow the service portfolio, grow the bottom line and grow the industry. I have faith in our universal ability to innovate and accomplish all of these things but one … that part about "growing the industry." Although collectively building our businesses in silos has a powerful aggregate effect, the fact is that today a gaping hole remains in the lineup of national or global ISP or WISP organizations. There isn't even a little tiny administrative office on K Street parked next door to the national headquarters of the USTA, TIA, or NCTA to stand up for us.

There have been great meetings and emotionally charged debates every year about such a thing and numerous startup organizations with all the best intentions. There have been plenty of trips to DC once or twice a year to make the rounds and talk about our interests. Ultimately, our industry as a whole has yet to make it to the next level and be grown up enough to support anything collectively for the greater good of the industry.

Time to grow up
My friends, it's time to grow up. It's time to set all the individual differences aside, the paranoid competitive concerns, learn from our painful past and begin laying the groundwork that will help protect what we've worked so hard to pioneer and create all over again. Until that happens, I'm afraid us little guys are destined to remain at the innovative edge caught in an infinite loop of startup struggle. The monopolies and well-financed players who are able to execute on their vision will simply pass us by again and cut us out of the next loop.

I was recently talking to Tom DeReggi about this issue. Tom is an incredibly good guy who runs a WISP in the DC outskirts called RapidDSL & Wireless. He's involved with the newly minted WISPA organization that's making great strides these days.

I'll repeat what I said to him: Those who are unable to mature and be sensible grown-ups in a real business environment are destined to play with their own toys by themselves in their own little sandbox. That goes for vendors and providers alike. You have a choice: play by yourself with your own toys or grow up and make the beach a better place for all of us. There's plenty of sand and sun to make elaborate sand castles, but there's no lifeguard on duty to make sure the tide doesn't wash us away again.

I hope that during the week you are able to catch Jeff Pulver's VoIP, Nigel Ballard's WiMAX, Meng Wong's SPF, John Todd's Asterisk and Linda Beck's security talks along with all the other amazing things planned. I'm extremely proud and honored to be in the same building with these people and to sit next to you in the audience. With the help of a fantastic group of people on our Advisory Board, this conference is by far one of our very best.

As you listen in or join the discussion about an amazing technology, opportunity or powerful marketing strategy, let's just keep in mind that while all this stuff is the best thing you can do for yourself on an individual level, there's an elephant in the room failing to address and represent the interests of what's best for our little industry that could. Please get involved with one of the legitimate organizations that have real promise, ethically represent your interests and start making a real difference for the greater good, not just yourself.

A big, big thanks to our distinguished faculty of speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, media partners—our incredible little team that pulls these massive shows together each time. Finally, thank YOU, a member of the vibrant Internet services community. Whether you've been coming to ISPCON since 1992, or just finding out about it, enjoy the week and please tell us if there is anything we can do to make ISPCON more valuable to you. Last, but not least … GROW UP!!! :)

Regards,

Jon Price

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