Mark Essex was just 24 years old when he embarked on a journey that would unknowingly shape the rest of his life. Reflecting on the early days, he admits, “If I had known what I was getting into, I don’t know if I would have done it.” His path was not planned, but rather a series of steps he’d taken out of necessity. “It was a gradual thing and you keep plugging along,” he says. “I’d like to tell you it was a great plan and I saw the vision, but that would be a lie. It grew out of a necessity, and we just kept doing it. There was never a grand plan.”
Karen, Mark’s wife, was the catalyst behind Netalytics and also came up with the company name. Graduating from Lander University in 1993, she secured her first job through a newspaper ad seeking a social worker with a bachelor’s degree. She initially misinterpreted the job as affiliated with the Methodist church, but quickly found herself in a methadone clinic, aiding heroin addicts. Despite her dislike of needles, Karen embraced the role, counseling addicts.
After graduating from Clemson in December 1993, Mark and Karen got married, and Mark took a job in Atlanta, where Karen found a similar job, working in a methadone clinic outside the city there. Every evening after the clinic closed, Karen and other staff would meticulously hand write labels for medications. This tedious task sparked an idea: why not create software to print the labels? Mark, being a computer science major, took on the challenge, creating a solution for $1,700 that would eventually evolve into a comprehensive electronic medical record system called Methasoft.
By the end of 1995, Mark received a call from another clinic inquiring about the software. Accepting the deal, Mark doubled the price and added a maintenance contract. It is amusing listening to Mark describe his somewhat arbitrary pricing – he charged what he thought people would pay! As demand grew, so did the software’s capabilities and client base, expanding to include clinics in North Georgia and Chattanooga by 1998.
The turn of the millennium brought both new challenges and opportunities. Mark decided to create a professional presence for his business, including a website, demo CDs, and marketing materials. Despite the post-9/11 decline in travel, Mark and Karen still attended a conference later that year, where their Windows-based solution garnered significant interest.
By the end of 2001, their business had started to grow and interest was high, and Mark was faced with a pivotal choice: to give up on his dream, or to quit his day job and spend his efforts on the software company. With no solid contracts in hand, Mark decided to pursue his dream of running a software company. Within two weeks of that decision, Netalytics developed a partnership with Cebert Pharmaceuticals, which provided them with a national sales team and marketing support. With this additional support, their client base expanded from six to thirty-four locations by the end of 2002. And, they started to grow their team.
Constantly unsure of the path ahead, Mark and Karen navigated numerous personal and professional challenges. Ultimately, at the end of 2002, they decided to return to the Greenville area, to live closer to family.
At this point in time, the software had evolved from a simple label marker to an advanced EMR system tailored for the high volume, regulation-intensive opioid treatment industry. By 2003, with the recent release of Microsoft’s .NET framework platform, Mark hired some additional developers to further upgrade their system, trying to be the technology leader in the industry, leading to the release of the new Methasoft .NET platform in 2006. This was the turning point for the product and the growth of the business.
Around 2007, Mark was invited to join the NEXT ecosystem, and Mark realized that NEXT could benefit all types of companies, so he joined the program. They were now not only closer to family, but he was now able to learn from others in the community while giving back.
After continual growth year over year, the next significant step in their journey was in 2017 when a banker approached Mark about selling their business. Initially reluctant, various events over the next couple of years changed their minds. By 2019, they were prepared to sell. Throughout the acquisition process, mentorship from organizations like BlueInc Strategies and NEXT VMS mentors provided invaluable support. After a long extensive process, they made a deal with a private equity firm in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.
After almost 3 years of working under the private equity group, Mark informed the leadership in November of 2022 of his desire to retire within a year. This set off a chain reaction that ultimately led to the sale of Netalytics to a strategic partner in October 2023. With Mark and Karen no longer a part of the ownership of the company, Karen retired in January 2024, with Mark following shortly thereafter in April 2024.
Upon retiring from Netalytics, Karen and Mark were not done. They went on to establish the Indigo Hope Foundation, aiding homelessness, addiction, at-risk youth, veterans, and first responders.
Now exploring AI and mentorship roles, Mark remains committed to giving back to the community that supported him along his process. Reflecting on his journey, Mark’s advice to others is as follows: “You have to make the time for mentorship. And do the work to engage. It will more than makeup for the time spent. If you’re not coachable, then you can’t do it.”
He highlights his greatest challenge as managing people. Some employees were great throughout the journey and constantly reliable, and upon the private equity sale, he was able to reward his long-term employees with significant bonuses. However, he also struggled with employees who he had to micromanage along the way, highlighting this as a significant and time consuming struggle.
Mark cherishes the early years of his business. Recalling his small, dedicated team that got them to where they are today. His story epitomizes a “20-year overnight success,” rooted in resilience, adaptability, and unwavering commitment to problem-solving and the ever-changing market.
Today, as Mark figures out his schedule and further explores the Indigo Hope Foundation daily requirements, he hopes to one day serve as a mentor in the NextGEN VMS program, training the next generation of innovators, and remaining deeply engaged in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Greenville and the Upstate.
Doug didn’t just attend as one of the highest-rated lawyers in South Carolina; he was also present as a founder. His professional journey began in computer programming and software engineering, providing him with a strong tech background. Subsequently, Doug pursued law school, creating a distinctive skill set that encompasses both legal expertise in patent writing and a deep understanding of the technology being patented. This unique combination positioned him as one of the early pioneers in the legal landscape of patenting software.
Starting the company out of their home, Nicole played a crucial role in the company’s early days, focusing on sales, business development, and even delving into finance and HR. An early challenge was coming to grips with all she didn’t know. We have no doubt that Nicole had a smile on her face throughout her personal development – we can count on her for kind words, big smile, and a bright laugh at any event she attends. 
