Internet Whiz

22 July 2005

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It's not just the internet that's been close to death and survived against the odds. David Lloyd meets a city entrepreneur with a charmed life.

Remember the internet bubble? Remember when everyone in town was talking up their wicked new site: "Yeah, we're in talks with some VCs to IPO our ISP in three months..."

Thankfully, the bubble burst. And so did those new media bank balances. But our love affair with the internet didn't end. Today, Manchester is riding the web's second wave, with a clutch of excellent designers creating sites for the city's great and good.

And at the less glamorous back end? Every good website needs a safe hosting service - ensuring that, when we visit them, everything from online purchasing to music downloads are working perfectly. And Manchester can claim to be a very good host indeed.

At the recent Internet Service Providers Awards, Lawrence Jones, the man behind Manchester's UKFast, scooped top prize - proving the North West can lead the industry by beating off competition for massive multinational London-based ISPs.

"We expected larger company to take home the prize. To be told that we are the benchmark to try to beat is a real testament to our staff and services." Jones says.

Its the second time in three months that the managing director has won accolades for the region - scooping Best Business Internet Service Provider.

Tremendous support from our clients placed us as the UK's Best Business ISP in December and now our peers in the industry have given us overwhelming recognition," Jones says.

UKFast first set out its stall six years ago. Jones had just departed Granada, where he'd been director of corporate hospitality. "If Coronation Street wanted Dodgem cars and naked skydivers at their christmas party they came to me."

Behind the celebrity veneer, Jones admits that Granada was an excellent place to learn the dos and don'ts for future ventures. "It was an education in soo many ways. But frustratingly, it's just impossible to make a difference as a small cog in a very large machine.

Finding the craving for productive challenges impossible to resist, he struck out alone - leaving his job, his city and his country behind. He looked to the US for a new vision to bring home.

"I took time for myself in New York. It's inspiring just playing chess in the park, snowboarding in the mountains and seeing friends."

It was 1999 and a major internet boom was starting.

"I wanted to offer a product I could sell to a more diverse community. I knew the internet would grow beyond expectations and supplying such a business tool was a very exciting prospect. I went all out for it."

But it very nearly never happened. While snowboarding in 2001, Jones was crossing a 100ft ravine when an avalanche hit. His companions regrouped but one man was missing.

"I have to say, " Jones remembers, "I said goodbye to people I knew I was going to miss, people I wished I has said a proper goodbye to and dearly wanted to spend more time with. Then my body actually shut down while I was conscious of it - conscious that I couldn't breath under the sheer weight of the snow."

Eight minutes later, he was dug out, revived and airlifted to hospital.

"Always wear an avalanche detector and take a thoracic heart surgeon with you." Is his advice now on venturing off-piste.

Naturally, the incident left its mark: "It's changed every single aspect of our home life and business life." The 'our' refers to his wife, Gail.

"Many people are married to their work. I married my business partner - it's a better blend. As my outlook on everything changed, Gail was there to facilitate it."

Together the pair returned to Manchester determined to build a company worthy of the city's new business community. UKFast was born. It was aptly named, rapidly becoming the most dependable of and increasing number of new media start-ups.

Jones' second epiphany came 15 months ago with the birth of his daughter Tegan.

"I've known people in business to have children and their companies really take off, and this is happening to me. I don't feel i am doing anything more diligently or professionally.

I always work hard, but there's something in the air because we are growing to a new, more established level."

Lawrence Jones will persuade you that anything is possible.

"I lost my life that day, so every day I have now is a bonus."

Recent reports place Manchester as the third best business city in Europe, and Jones knows that the Internet sector as a whole in Manchester is challenging London for the top spot.

But for now, he remains level headed and modest about his achievements.

"At the awards ceremony, I actually had to pinch myself. I questioned, 'Did I die that day or is this all for real?'"

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