Over a couple of cigars, Eddie Esserman and George Reed hatched the idea for a daily, tower news publication from a bench at the Encore in Las Vegas. There for the 2013 NAB Show, Esserman commented that there wasn’t a daily news publication for the tower or telecom space.
Reed’s response: ‘When did you think of this, Kemosabe?’
Esserman replied: ‘Just this morning.’
Reed: ‘So did I.’
After the stun of the initial exchange faded, Reed said, ‘Well, I guess we should start one.’
Inside Towers was born. Their previous business idea, forming a tower development company, had occurred more than a decade earlier from a similar bench in New York’s Central Park, and it had worked out pretty well, according to Reed.
Since the publication idea had simultaneously occurred to both of them, completely independent of one another, they decided to call it “Inside Towers” and give it a try. No market research; no business plan.
The fledgling publishers didn’t know whether there was enough industry news to support a daily periodical, so they decided to test it for a few months. A family friend, Kristen Sibbitt, was about to graduate from Florida State, so they offered her the job of gathering industry news each day and posting it into a blog. An audience built quickly. Over and over they heard, “You’re the first thing we read every day.”
The thought of monetizing the new electronic effort didn’t materialize until NATE called and wanted to advertise. The new publication needed ad help and promptly recruited industry veteran Phil Cook, formerly with AGL and a former publisher himself of Mobile Radio Technology.
“And the rest, as they say, is history,” Reed said.
“As we’ve grown so has our team.” Esserman said. “Jim Fryer, our editor, has brought together a stellar team of focused journalists with John Celentano, Sharpe Smith, and Leslie Stimson. Tower industry veteran Phil Cook joined us early on in Advertising Sales, and Megan Reed joined our ‘family business’ as Marketing Director.”
The brand has grown to include a quarterly market analysis report Intelligence by Inside Towers, as complete a tower database as the publishers believe exists, a buyer’s guide in Tower-Pro, and custom digital solutions for clients.
“Thanks for making Inside Towers part of your daily read,” Esserman said. “It’s a fast track, and we’ve learned as you teach us how this industry grows and connects the world. We’re still amazed how this ‘cigar-born idea’ caught on and today, want to thank you for giving us a decade of joy and success. We’ll continue to work hard to deliver another decade of an even better Inside Towers.”
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