Welcome to my first blog post. I can’t believe it’s already 2012. That means I’ve been “in the business”
for 16 years. I still feel young but the calendar and gray hair tell a different story…
For my first blog post I want to travel back in time and reminisce on why I started Bandwidth Advisors.
I always planned to start a company. The bigger challenge was: who, what, where, when, why and how. My pursuit began early and I habitually asked myself (and others) “what unique value could I deliver to the marketplace?” and “what inefficiencies could I fix?” It all became painfully clear in the late 90’s while working for a large Telco. I witnessed a series of questionable transactions. Sales to clients I believed to be immoral, illegal and wrong. I thought people would go to jail. But it turns out, I was too idealistic and too naïve. The transactions I witnessed, while morally questionable, were not illegal.
The reality is, the providers can charge whatever they can get away with. Back when DS3’s of Internet connectivity were the biggest circuits around, here’s what I witnessed: In the same month, 2 different clients both purchased a full DS3 of IP out of the main carrier hotel in the northwest. Both clients purchased the service on a 2 year term. Both orders funneled up to the same Sales VP at this Telco. The difference: one company paid $18,000 per month for the service and the other paid $43,000 per month for the exact same service, same location, same provider and same term. Again, I thought this must be illegal, but I was wrong. On a positive note, this event, and others like it, triggered the creation of Bandwidth Advisors. The unique value I could bring the marketplace became clear. I could help clients understand the obscure economics of the telecom industry. I could help clients get fair pricing and contract terms – I could be their advocate.
So, that’s why I started Bandwidth Advisors. Next blog post will focus on the how. Two quick hints on how I started BA: My nutrition source was Top Ramen. My funding source was Visa and MasterCard…
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