firm. it wasn t clear we could return to anything we had known before. reporter: what made you decide to stay? we just decided we can t be away from it. this is the time. you either come and make it work or leave and find a new life. reporter: where are we now? we re in the turbo squid headquarters office in new orleans. reporter: but matt s fledgling company, turbo squid, which sells 3-d computer models for commercials, movies, even here on cnn, faced the same problem hundreds of others did communications, transportation, banking, and even basic civic services were in shambles. no one business or even hundreds of them could do anything about all of these difficulties they faced, so they got creative and they got coordinated. a man in here knows exactly how it happened. this storm could have destroyed this whole place but it really gave us a chance at intense self-examination. reporter: that s michael hackett with greater new