John Edwards

CEO, Move Networks

by Brad Plothow

When the outlook seemed grim, John Edwards held onto his vision. It kept him motivated and disciplined. In fact, Edwards says that vision, which he defines as a "preferred view of the future," is the most fundamental element in any successful endeavor, including business.

"The thing you can never squash is someone's passion," says Edwards, founder of Utah County-based Move Networks. "My passion is a love of the next big thing."

In Edwards' case, the next big thing was network-based storage of video data, a technical explanation for streaming video on the Internet. Edwards parlayed two decades of experience in the tech worlds of infrastructure and voice-over-Internet protocol into a simple but revolutionary idea: your favorite TV shows on demand.

The notion was exciting to Edwards, whose preferred view of the future included a media climate where TV Guide was essentially irrelevant. But it was a surprisingly hard sell to the big networks.

"We had to wade through the time when nobody would pay attention to us," Edwards says.

The rejection was certainly discouraging for Edwards. But he felt strongly about the future of"catch-up TV," and in his opinion, anything worth doing is worth doing better than anyone else. He couldn't be better than everyone else without buy-in from the networks, so he grew the technology and waited for the right opportunity. It's because of that stubborn persistence that you can now watch "Grey's Anatomy" online.

"Opportunity always comes to people who are prepared for it," he says. "We had spent our time and paid our dues and were ready for it."

As Move Networks has grown, Edwards has applied that same philosophy when hiring new team members. Technical skills are a must in the high-tech world, but Edwards is more interested in a person's relentless drive than their handbook grasp of application development. Edwards' business has thrived because his tenacity matched his grasp of the industry. He expects the same of the people who work for him.

"I like to find people who have passion and then align their abilities with unmet needs," he says. "You have to find great people and ask them what they love to do. Work is a game then. It's play."

Guiding principles

1. Have faith: Then be relentless in making it happen.
2. Excellence never hurts: You don't get a second chance to carry a brand.
3. Find balance: Be committed, but know when to cut bait.