U.S. NetworX: Internet Services

Arose From the Bubble Rubble
Against All Odds

By Sara Pentz

Most people have a reverberating image of that terrible morning on September 11, 2001, when those two magnificent towers collapsed into rubble on the floor of the earth in New York City. For almost thirty years they had been a symbol of man’s capacity to rise from primitive life to create a civilization where just about anything was possible.

Several years leading up to this awful event, the dot.com Internet sector was beginning its own fall and the Bubble finally burst in 2001.

That same year––against all odds––David Crawford, a CPA turned Internet businessman, could see the future through the dust and wreckage of those historic events. Today, the company he created with his small team of associates, U.S. NetworX, is an outgrowth of his resilience to fight through those difficult times to secure his vision of the future for Internet services and web-based business.

U.S. NetworX is a national provider of e-business services including website and database development, hosting, search engine placement, dedicated servers, and networking, as well as nationwide dialup and ISDN Internet access.

The company started with five employees, a zero client base and became profitable within its second year of business. U.S. NetworX now has clients in 40 states and 12 foreign countries, with 14 employees headquartered in Jackson and a branch office in Oxford. It closed its seventh acquisition a year ago. Talk about against the odds.

Before establishing the company Crawford began his career as a CPA specializing in the oil and gas industry. Once the Internet boom came into play he knew he had to be a part of it. Through research and strategic planning, he began his introduction to the world of the Internet by creating Ayrix Technologies in l997 which went on to become the largest ISP in Mississippi. After several years of success, Ayrix Technologies was sold to Michigan-based BigNet, later renamed BigNet South. With Crawford providing most of the preliminary funding the original Ayrix team next organized U.S. NetworX. It was a bold move at a time when pessimism dominated.

There was another goal CEO Crawford wanted to achieve for this new venture. Like many Mississippi companies, he believes that his state can rise up from a sagging economy that has weighed on the south for more than a century and a half. He consulted with several company executives to discuss innovative concepts for a successful web design firm and those innovations became the foundation of U.S. NetworX.

Crawford built the company based on the premise that thriving businesses depend upon their computer networks to remain productive. He believes: “They need knowledgeable and experienced network support behind them. U.S. NetworX would provide network administration and services to local Mississippi businesses to help organizations achieve their potential with scaleable network design and reliable network maintenance.

“I think one of the most special things that we do,” explains Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Meg Martin, spokesperson for the company, “is to help businesses and organizations in Mississippi grow. Although we have many clients in other states and countries, our hearts belong to Mississippi. All of our employees are from Mississippi. We want to help bring more business and industry to our state, and we have been working with cities, counties, chambers, and economic development organizations to help them showcase their value to the world.”

“Startup was scary, but exciting,” adds Martin. “We started this company when many web service companies were going out of business…and selling out to bigger firms.” But David Crawford managed the finances, kept the crew focused, and steered them in the right direction. “The people who actually understood what we were doing at the time probably thought we were crazy because of the situation,” she says. “There we were starting a web services business from scratch while thousands of other businesses in our industry were filing bankruptcy.”

Martin sees the big picture when talking about the company: “Our philosophy from the very beginning has been to live by the golden rule. We put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and think about how we would want to be treated if we were them. We work very closely with our clients to make sure the end product meets and exceeds their needs and expectations. That is why we offer a money back guarantee on our work. And, to my knowledge, no client has ever asked for their money back.”

Doubtful anyone will with the kind of strong self-pride reflected inside this company. “We like to think that all of our jobs (for our clients) are a success. Our main objective is to help businesses and organizations spread their message via the web. We firmly believe in what we are doing, and we are very good at it.”

Apparently, others agree because clients like Mississippi Restaurant Association, Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, Bovard Real Estate and Mississippi Propane Gas Association speak particularly to the issue of the personal touch U.S. NetworX brings to the relationship. Here is some of what they say:

"Your follow up and attention to detail is thorough and professional.""I really do appreciate the way everyone treats us, whether it’s when we come for
a visit, on the phone or email. We know that you are all working in our BEST interest.”

"You have a way of making 'Computer Dummies' like me feel confident
of myself and also know that you are right there ready to help."

Last year the company received two awards: 2005 Who’s Who In Mississippi Business CEO Small Business of the Year – David Crawford and 2005 Emerging Companies Finalist (Salute to Business & Industry Awards).

At a time when there are people who would like to topple everything from the United States itself to small Internet companies, U.S. NetworX is security-minded with a state-of-the-art data center and an intrusion detection system that monitors the company’s network 24 hours a day. The company also has an enterprise-class spam and virus-filtering gateway to protect clients.

When all about them seemed to be crashing down in 2001, David Crawford and his team at U.S. NetworX have demonstrated that toughing it out––against the odds––in the Internet business with a devotion to the State of Mississippi can be about as profitable as it can be rewarding.

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