Contegix has come a long way since 2004, when co-founders Matthew Porter and Craig McElroy founded the company. Software developers by trade, neither was happy with the web hosting services available to them at the time; so they decided to create one.

With $1,000 in hand, they bought servers and racks, set up in a small corner in Porter’s basement, and began taking turns at 12-hour shifts to ensure client security and satisfaction. It was there that Contegix was born.

The name is derived from the Latin word ‘contego’ meaning ‘to shield or protect,’ and since day one, Porter says their focus has been on the customer. “We knew that without the customer, we couldn’t keep our doors open, their interests had to come first.”

They figured if they kept their customers happy, remained profitable and stayed current with the latest technology, everything else would fall into place. “With every decision, the questions we ask (in order) are: Is it good for the customer? Is it good for our employees? Is it good for Contegix?”

That formula has certainly been successful for Contegix, as it remains one of the fastest growing companies in St. Louis. The company has grown more than 4,200% in the last five years, and is on pace to add a new employee every 16 days.

Needless to say, they’re no longer operating out of Matthew’s basement. Contegix has steadily expanded its office in downtown St. Louis, now occupying more than 8,500 sq. ft. of office space (not including their growing data centers) at the Bandwidth Exchange Building on Walnut Street.

Both founders were born and educated in Missouri (Saint Louis University and University of Missouri-St. Louis), and despite recently opening an additional data center in the UK (24/7 support from St. Louis), they’re fully committed to keeping the company based locally.

Clients range vastly from technology start-ups to Fortune 500 businesses, but the one thing they have in common is the peace-of-mind and quality service they get from Contegix. In fact, most of its meteoric growth has come through referrals and recognition from winning industry awards, such as recently being named the “Favorite Linux-Friendly Web Hosting Company” by the Linux Journal.

With their continued dedication to clients and employees, Porter and McElroy project steady growth for the foreseeable future, which is good news for both Contegix and for the high tech job market in Missouri.