Kayla Fleming, the Vice President over at Surpass Hosting is one of those people who I had always read or watched (no wait, that makes me sound like a stalker doesn’t it?) but never introduced myself to till a few days ago. I needed an interesting personality to talk with and she seemed to take the proverbial cake. I have been a big fan of her work and wanted to learn a little more. According to her profile over at the WHIR…
Kayla has experience in all areas of web hosting from conducting market research to securing server environments. Kayla has worked with Internet companies for nine years and has been involved in the web hosting industry since 2002. Under Kayla’s direction, Surpass has reached record growth each year. She is also responsible for the company’s forum, one of the most active communities among web hosts.
Now your caught up to the same spot it Kayla’s story I was at before this greatly enjoyable chat between the two of us.
How did you “break in” to the wild and wacky world of web hosting we live in today?
Kayla: My first job was doing tech support at an all Mac powered ISP. That was powerful inspiration to stay on the geek path. I watched sites like Blogger.com pop up from thin air and saw a lot of trends unfold. I think it happened very naturally and I was at the right place at the right time.
Where is hosting going to be in the next 10 years? Will it be the same or will we all be controlled by the servers we control right now?
Kayla: I would say that hosting may be going home, that is to home servers and increasingly faster Internet connections. But no matter how many do-it-yourselfers are out there, web hosting is still providing a service, a helping hand, and a look into where the Internet is headed. I feel that in 10 years, it will be very much the same as it now.
What is the one thing that Surpass offers that you think nobody can match you on? I want something you look at, and just think, “Damn, we are pretty good at that”.
Kayla: When I think of Surpass, I immediately think of “friendly” and “personable” above all. I think our forum at www.surmunity.com is one of the largest hosting forums. Most of our staff chat on Surmunity when they’re off the clock and at home. We enjoy what we do and want to help people get their businesses and ideas on the web. If anyone has a bad experience then there won’t be anything fun about that. So I think we are good at ensuring people will have a good experience.
Would you rather be known as a personality inside of the hosting world or would you be happier just sitting behind a desk doing your job? From what I can tell there are two different types in web hosting. The social ones that love to mix and mingle, share ideas and put their faces out there and the ones who hide in a basement somewhere in Montana, which are you?
Kayla: In the past year I have enjoyed traveling more than ever and hope to attend more conventions (excuses to take photos for my Flickr). But deep down I am still a content geek in front of the computer for hours; I’m not very complicated.
You are the VP over at Surpass Hosting. There are not many women in powerful positions in the hosting industry. Is that just because there are more men than women in the hosting area or for some other reason?
Kayla: I think this stems from the tech industry in general. Web hosting is also a very unique sector of the entire tech field. Until the average person can answer “What does web hosting mean?” with perfect confidence, it will take some time before both sexes are commonplace.
Why are there so many different web hosting choices out there?
Kayla: It seems like any type of profitable market will become saturated. I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina for New Year’s and while at a street fair, I saw someone selling fresh orange juice. Then a few blocks down there would be another person doing the same. You’d also see people selling the exact same ugly wallets that no one was buying. The key difference here is that people will always enjoy eating and drinking, but will never have a constant need for ugly wallets. Yet, if people see certain products being sold, they’ll want to try it, just to see if they can do it as well or better. Even if it may not seem possible or profitable at first. So all of the good web hosts are glasses of delicious orange juice.. and the bad ones are ugly wallets.
I want to thank Kayla for taking time out to talk with me, and if you want to see more of her work be sure to check out Surpass Hosting, her WHIR.com blog, and her own personal site.
I have a few more lined up that I think you all will enjoy too.
Comments and Feedback