St. Louis internet service provider Access U.S. was founded in 1995 by Vic Mattison and Rob Semaan to serve business customers at the leading edge of the World Wide Web's growth. The start-up company originally provided the majority of its clients with dial-up service and offered high-speed ISDN connections.
In its first five years, Access U.S. grew organically and through acquisition of eight local competitors and their customers as other top providers were sold or moved their headquarters. By 2000, Access U.S. had risen to second place on the St. Louis Business Journal's list of the city's dial-up ISPs. The following year, it increased its acquisitions to over a dozen under the direction of Robert Semaan as CEO.
At that point, the company had doubled or tripled its revenues each year since it began. One especially successful strategy that Rob Semaan supported was a focus on acquiring hundreds of new customers in rural areas after providing their schools with free, high-speed, dedicated T-1 lines.
In its first five years, Access U.S. grew organically and through acquisition of eight local competitors and their customers as other top providers were sold or moved their headquarters. By 2000, Access U.S. had risen to second place on the St. Louis Business Journal's list of the city's dial-up ISPs. The following year, it increased its acquisitions to over a dozen under the direction of Robert Semaan as CEO.
At that point, the company had doubled or tripled its revenues each year since it began. One especially successful strategy that Rob Semaan supported was a focus on acquiring hundreds of new customers in rural areas after providing their schools with free, high-speed, dedicated T-1 lines.