Features
VOL. 24 NO. 5, APRIL 14-20, 2003

Small Biz Profile
Firm finds if information flows, revenue will follow
Brothers keep company competitive by remaining agile

By Anthony Schoettle
IBJ Reporter

Sterling Creek flowed through the boyhood hometown of brothers George Jones and Craig Oxendine Jr., connecting many parts in the region near Naxera , Va.

So when it came time to name their company, which specializes in making computer information flow more easily, they turned to the creek that ran through their childhood.

Sterling Creek Software sprung in Fishers in March 1999. Keeping with the waterway theme, the brothers came up with the tagline, "Where innovation flows."

"We wanted a name that was different from other IT companies," Oxendine said. "We wanted to stand apart."

By client accounts, Sterling Creek has stood apart, and the difference has been more than the name.

"They came in to work with us on one project we thought was fairly complicated, came in one day, came back that afternoon and had some solutions," said Kirt Perkins, vice president of network operations for Mebane, N.C.-based Madison River Communications.

Perkins said Sterling Creek has been invaluable to Madison River, a holding company in an acquisition mode.

"When we make an acquisition, we have to make sure our computer systems communicate and information flows," Perkins said. "When we make another acquisition, I won't hesitate to call them. On one of our projects, they cut our conversion time from 18 hours to 15 minutes. You can imagine how much that saved us."

Sterling Creek stands a cut above other information technology firms, Perkins said, because it offers a fixed flat rate for projects and can create a customized program or system "from scratch."

Most of Sterling Creek's clients are in Indiana , with a sprinkling out of state. Oxendine and Jones have seen revenue grow more than 10 percent annually since founding the company. Revenue jumped from $650,000 in 2001 to $800,000 in 2002. The brothers have only four other employees; though they want to grow the company, they're in no hurry.

The brothers envision an Indianapolis-area office with about 35 employees; growing the company's presence in Cincinnati , where it currently has one employee; and possibly opening several other small satellite offices as clients dictate.

"There are a lot of companies doing what we're doing, but we've made it by remaining small and agile," Jones said. "Every employee must remain a resource, and it has to stay a team effort."

Jones and Oxendine learned firsthand what can happen when an IT firm becomes too big. They both worked with and for firms that ballooned during the late 1990s, busy with Y2K and other work. Then they saw the bubble burst. The brothers also saw how when companies got too big, attitudes toward co-workers and clients became impersonal.

"I've worked for large companies where you're really only a number," Jones said. "And when your number's up, your number's up."

Jones, 44, who served in the U.S. Air Force after high school, was enticed away from his home in the Chesapeake Bay area by a job as a research engineer at Naval Avionics in Indianapolis . Jones became an expert in radars, electronics and computer systems, later working for Texas-based EDS Corp., NASA, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Department of Defense.

Oxendine, 35, came to central Indiana to study electrical engineering at Purdue University . He later did contract work for the Defense Department and worked for three years as a project engineer at local Thomson Consumer Electronics.

After working for larger IT firms, the brothers decided to set sail on their own, to bring a more customer-oriented, analytical approach to solving computer system problems.

"With our background, we found we can usually tackle a wider variety of issues than most firms," Oxendine said. "We don't sell off-the-shelf products. We do custom applications."

Sterling Creek Software

Location: 9001 Technology Drive, Suite E, Fishers
Phone: 813-0690
E-mail: jhipskind@sterlingcreek.net
Web site: www.sterlingcreek.net
Founded: March 1999
Founders/owners: George P. Jones and Craig M. Oxendine Jr.
Service: specialized information technology consulting, custom application software development, including Internet-based and stand-alone business systems
Employees: 4
Revenue (2002): $800,000
One-year goal: diversify revenue base with government, health care, pharmaceutical and other business sectors, and increase product and service offerings
Industry outlook: Due to the economy, companies are cutting back on spending in this sector. But industry sources think a pent-up demand will be unleashed in the next 18 to 24 months.