Staff meetings and the occasional disagreement at iNetz are sometimes boisterous. The chief executive officer and the chief technology officers -- three of the company's four partners -- sometimes disagree at a high decibel. They're not above out-shouting each other.
But they don't bear grudges. At the end of the day, Josie, Tom and Jon Gay all go home together. And their volume's not really surprising. They are triplets who are also the youngest three of 12 children, "used to talking over each other" to be heard.The Gays are also examples of a new breed of Internet-company executives. By "old economy" standards they're young -- 25. They fit right in the "new economy": driven to succeed, techno-savvy and shepherding a multimillion-dollar company.
iNetz builds secure Web sites, taking a concept through the stages that make it reality, including actual design, programming and launch.
They went into business about three years ago with a team of five people and now employ 27. And they continue to expand.
Their triple-threat partnership was accidental.
Tom and Jon Gay had always liked to pal around together. As children, they locked Josie out of most playtime pursuits. She was, after all, a girl. She was also bigger than they were (and older by almost 5 minutes), so she convinced them she was a year older. Her story fell apart when they were 3 and she lost her big-sister status. But the group dynamics changed when they were in eighth grade and a classmate made a hurtful remark about her. Jon threw him up against a locker, and she knew she was "in."
Jon and Tom were working for a company that was about to eliminate its Internet division. They thought it might be time to go into business for themselves. After all, Josie said, "They were sitting at a computer, programming, as soon as they could move their fingers."
They asked Josie, who had just earned a degree in international business, to help them write a business plan. But they found they worked so well together that she became a business partner. They brought in a fourth partner, J.T. Holt, as chief operating officer. And one year into the business, since Josie was handling most of the customers personally, they decided she'd be a great CEO.
Tom, who had worn that mantle, didn't mind a bit.
"We have no problem with pride and egos," said Josie Gay. "There was never any hierarchy growing up. We were in the same grade and had the same privileges." Besides, she said, they liked the idea of a woman CEO.
They have three departments: sales, development and production. Josie oversees the marketing, while Tom and Jon head up production. Besides Holt and the Gays, the company includes a president, a vice president of sales, three designers and 18 others who are "essential to our success," Tom said.
That rapid success has come in part because of the "company culture," Tom said. "I really feel that everybody likes to be here. And if they don't, we don't want them here."
It's a 'flat organization,' where everyone has standing to contribute ideas. And each employee affects the bottom line."
While they have no plans to go public, the trio is realistic about the future. In the first place, the Internet -- and the technology on which it is delivered -- changes all the time. They know they have to keep up or be left behind. As innovations that are "advantageous" to them develop, they employ them. When technology overcomes the limitations imposed by available bandwidth, iNetz will be very different, Jon predicted.
Such innovation is likely not more than three years away, they said.
They run the business like they run the house they recently purchased together, each bringing unique strengths to a combination that works because they know each other so well. At home, for example, Josie is concerned about her surroundings. She likes to decorate. Jon loves to work in the yard. And Tom is the detail man. "I notice that he comes along behind Jon and me and perfects what we do," Josie said.
They agree, as a team, that it's unlikely they'll retire with iNetz. They figure they'll eventually merge with someone or be acquired. That's the nature of the business. Along the way, they may acquire a few businesses themselves.
They're in a good position for it. They're self-funded and have "grown from our own cash flow," said Tom. "We're debt-free."
So they have an exit strategy for when the time comes. Josie jokes that hers will involve the Caribbean, while Tom's centers on the Mediterranean. Jon just smiles.