[caption id="attachment_165382" align="alignright" width="379"] Photo by Eric Crossan[/caption]

WhyFly
CEO: Mark Thompson
Location: Wilmington
Getwhyfly.com

WhyFly is a local Internet service provider delivering high-speed Internet to homes and businesses through managed fiber and air fiber technology. We have no contracts, no hidden fees, and we like to say no shenanigans! We are local people helping their neighbors making Internet affordable and available to everyone.

What have been the biggest factors that contributed to your company’s growth? We have been so lucky with the people we have hired. A lot of them found us, writing passionate letters about what we were doing and wanting to be involved. The city of Wilmington's word of mouth has also been huge. This has helped us not only get new customers but new distribution points as well. We deliver our service via fiber into tall buildings and towers and getting those high points is really crucial to our expansion. We get calls from the community saying we would like to help you out or I know this person.

What have been the biggest obstacles your company has faced over the past three years? Finding the right funding, everyone likes the idea and it’s really about finding the right strategic partners who will believe in your vision. Finding good people from the customer support/ service standpoint. We don't like to hire salespeople, because folks calling in already don't like who they currently may have as a provider. All you have to do is treat them like your neighbor and educate them and get them signed up. If you get too pushy it doesn't work. There are challenges from a technology standpoint because it is new technology. There are always learning curves, but we have seemed to overcome most of those.