AirCanopy Internet Services was a wireless ISP with humble beginnings. We were in an area that had a reasonably high population density, but like so many other areas did not merit the investment from the traditional carriers in high speed infrastructure. Starting with a couple of credit cards and a big dream we set out to fill in the gap left by the traditional service provider. I was a wireless network engineer during a time when remote work was the norm and telecommuting was the standard practice. The need for stable and reliable Internet service was acutely needed.
Being that necessity is the mother of invention; I decided that in order to accomplish the goal of reliable service, a superior technology and infrastructure would be needed. While there was some Wi-Fi enabled systems available they were far from capable of providing the expectation of service like the traditional carriers it would be compared to.
We like a few others decided to employ a new point to multipoint system based on Motorola’s Canopy project. It was a new product with basic services, but it’s key feature was a synchronized system that assured fair and balanced delivery of bandwidth which the 802.11 systems were unable to provide. Unfortunately, the system did have a drawback and that was its relatively high cost. This fact put a burden on our budding new company, the idea of providing a carrier type service while still being able to operate a business.
We were certain that the business would grow and our team was working long and hard to install as many customers as possible in a day. The difficulty came in managing cash flow. We were able to leverage credit cards and some traditional financing, but it became apparent that more was needed if we were going to maintain our growth and not be forced to raise prices.
We were introduced to Agility Ventures and Bill MacNamara and things changed.
Through Agility, we were suddenly able to finance radio equipment from a lender that understood what our needs were and how the equipment was used. Unlike banks and other leasing companies that would lease money for the equipment then insist that it all stay in one location and not allow it to be deployed in the network. Agility knew the limitation of the small wisp and tailored a program to help us grow, get equipment, make sensible payments and most importantly gave us the credit line we needed to succeed.
With the help from Agility we experienced exponential growth because we now had the cash flow to increase our marketing budget, hire more people and even move into a larger office. Within three years, we were listed among the “Top Wireless Internet Service Providers” says the Dallas Business Journal for 2005 and stayed there for three consecutive years.
It was the consistent growth and opportunities we created along with the financial help from Agility and others that allowed AirCanopy to succeed and attract the attention of a network consolidator that eventually bought the company in late 2008 for its core organization in the Texas market.
AirCanopy is a success story like many others in this market. Leveraging solid cash flow and having a plan for success made AirCanopy what it was when it was finally sold. Our thanks to Agility for helping us. Had it not been for them, the road to success for our small company would have been very different.
Thank You,
Phil Walsh
Formerly Founder and General Manager of AirCanopy Internet Services