Are the majority of hosting companies operated and owned by 1 or 2 people?
I know big ones like Host Gator aren't but it seems like the majority of them are..

I am not sure by what you are asking exactly about the ownership of a web hosting company, however the majority of hosting companies are not owned by 1 or 2 people however, they are generally formed as an LLC under a limited partnership where the LLC is the General Partner and individual investors are the limited partners. It is possible to start a web hosting company with 1 or 2 individuals however, those businesses are generally not as reliable and would ultimately prove unstable unless the individual which started the business has a high net worth and investment capitol.
I hope this answers your question.

You know, most of hosting sites are runned just by a teenager with reseller account :)
But I think that hosting company need 2 people, technical server admin and other for contacting with clients, accounting etc.

It is possible to start a web hosting company with 1 or 2 individuals however, those businesses are generally not as reliable and would ultimately prove unstable unless the individual which started the business has a high net worth and investment capitol.
Maybe or the individual is dedicated to the business like Brent Oxley. The one man show doesn't mean instability, lack of experience and dedicated does...

I would say in the current financial climate we are in, the little, one man band, might be all that survives?

Maybe or the individual is dedicated to the business like Brent Oxley. The one man show doesn't mean instability, lack of experience and dedicated does...
There have been cases where individuals create and operate a business which is strong, solid, and successful, however there are few of those and as a above poster has stated many web hosting companies are operated by a teenager on a reseller account. But I do agree with you as there will surely be individuals who can build a great hosting company and become the best but in general, most hosting companies, especially the larger ones operate in a partnership business structure.

* Moved to Running a Web Hosting Business....
Sirius

I would say in the current financial climate we are in, the little, one man band, might be all that survives?
Don't see the climate as all that bad in this industry, and suspect the little one man bands actually have the highest rate of churn because they haven't the capital resources to withstand their first year's operations. You can be a great tech, but maybe not a great sales rep, or just the opposite.

Don't see the climate as all that bad in this industry, and suspect the little one man bands actually have the highest rate of churn because they haven't the capital resources to withstand their first year's operations. You can be a great tech, but maybe not a great sales rep, or just the opposite.
I agree, most businesses in this industry will be able to survive even with the current economic crises we are seeing as long as their business structure was built for honest profit. It is true that many individuals cannot survive past their first year in operation because they are not able to do both, sales and tech. Some are but in my honest opinion I also feel that this industry is not doing too bad and it will surpass most other industries.

It's good to have someone online 24/7 on live chat, and a person or two at tickets.
I have 4 co-workers right now ;)

Are the majority of hosting companies operated and owned by 1 or 2 people?
I know big ones like Host Gator aren't but it seems like the majority of them are..
I would say the big boys are setup like your typical businesses... CEO, CTO, etc.
However, many of us choose to run our businesses in a different manner. For example, I could easily have an office, employees, etc but it makes no sense. I love my life of working from home and spending every waking hour with my daughter. Family members work for me which is nice since I know the money from the business go to help everyone.
Anyways, just wanted to toss that out :)
To answer your question directly, I'd say Yes, majority of WHT hosts are likely 1-2 man operations.

It is possible to start a web hosting company with 1 or 2 individuals however, those businesses are generally not as reliable and would ultimately prove unstable unless the individual which started the business has a high net worth and investment capitol.
I'd say that starting a web hosting company with 1 or 2 individuals is often the much better path. Sure, you may need more capital to start off with, but you won't need to deal with investors and their concerns / agenda, etc.

1-2 man operations are fairly common in the industry. It's definitely a lot easier with employees (IMO), though, especially in terms of having the time/energy to focus on expansion.
-mike

I think everyone needs to start off with 1-2 people. sometimes it can take up to 2 years before profit actualy shows

Most web hosting companies are 1-2 man operations especially in this sort of economy. Not all hosts can afford to hire 5 employees when 2 employees can take care of the job. However, just because there are 2 employees working doesn't mean that host doesn't provide quality services.

Sometimes, new startups with 2 partners, usually are the only ones working 12 hrs a day each, deliver better service than those who have 10+ employees working 8 hrs a day each.

I've found that smaller companies I've used have actually provided me with a better service than huge companies that consider you a number in their profit margin.
My company is still quite small but we manage to provide a support that our customers are happy with and I believe that's all that counts in the end.

Most web hosting companies are 1-2 man operations especially in this sort of economy. Not all hosts can afford to hire 5 employees when 2 employees can take care of the job. However, just because there are 2 employees working doesn't mean that host doesn't provide quality services.
I highly agree with you that 2 employees working does not mean that a host doesn't provide quality hosting, however in the end most 1-2 person operations expand or slowly grow into the business structure I have stated before.
As stated by another member, these companies sometimes regard you as a number in their profit margin, however many companies who moved into this structure still retain their quality customer service while moving into a greater business structure. We see too many businesses which do not, however there are many that do and they always remain forgotten.

As of today, we have somewhere between 27 and 35 (depending on if you want to count developers and consultants that make fairly regular appearances), but we started out as a 2 man operation. Using PDA's and having all tickets / support calls piped through, that can be pretty effective - just don't plan to get a lot of sleep or have much of a life for a while unless you really grow (this is what really kills most small business owners from what I've seen- that goes on for too long and they work themselves into the ground).

Sometimes, new startups with 2 partners, usually are the only ones working 12 hrs a day each, deliver better service than those who have 10+ employees working 8 hrs a day each.
They may provide more personalised service, but you need to make sure the cost base covers hiring additional people when you can no longer provide quality service (or want a holiday).
I've seen a lot of smaller companies caught out by this over the years. They're like a sponge, at first they'll start soaking up customers but eventually a point will be reached where the sponge cannot hold anything else.
At that point you'd better hope that there is a plan in place for what to do next.
We're not a large company in the traditional sense, but larger than many in our industry. We've got a board of directors, a CxO level management team, 30 full time staff that work out of our offices and a bunch of casuals (primarily for service desk).
To be honest, business has never been better. We're winning a lot of contracts from large corporates that are seeking to reduce costs by outsourcing hosting of their corporate websites, email, etc.
We're also looking at taking a floor in a local office tower because we can't fit any more staff in our current office. We're also looking at acquiring other companies.
My point?
Over the next few years, your 1-2 people businesses may stick around and the larger businesses like us will survive.
Those in between, well time will tell. I'd say we're going to see a lot more acquisitions.
-Shaun

They may provide more personalised service, but you need to make sure the cost base covers hiring additional people when you can no longer provide quality service (or want a holiday).Thats true. But for some startups, outsourcing may be the best solution... (since its cheap.. lol)
I've seen a lot of smaller companies caught out by this over the years. They're like a sponge, at first they'll start soaking up customers but eventually a point will be reached where the sponge cannot hold anything else.Yeah. At that time, they will start to hire a few techs. I had seen some examples here on WHT too!
At that point you'd better hope that there is a plan in place for what to do next.How can we do things without a plan? :D
We're not a large company in the traditional sense, but larger than many in our industry. We've got a board of directors, a CxO level management team, 30 full time staff that work out of our offices and a bunch of casuals (primarily for service desk).Whoa.. Thats quite a lot...
To be honest, business has never been better. We're winning a lot of contracts from large corporates that are seeking to reduce costs by outsourcing hosting of their corporate websites, email, etc.Those large coporates you mean are not host themselves?
We're also looking at taking a floor in a local office tower because we can't fit any more staff in our current office. We're also looking at acquiring other companies.:cool:
My point?
Over the next few years, your 1-2 people businesses may stick around and the larger businesses like us will survive.
Those in between, well time will tell. I'd say we're going to see a lot more acquisitions.
-ShaunTime is always the key to answer.

You really only need 1 owner, and just hire a few others.

It is true that one man show will be a risk to the customer.(correct me if I am wrong). But for a smooth opertaion atleast 5 member team will be good.
We in hexahost, we are operting with 6 people with two per 8 hours shift.