SANFORD, Fla. -- As Interstate 4 construction continues, the morning commute can be frustrating for drivers. 

• Ongoing I-4 construction is frustrating drivers
• Ron Cook moved his business from Orlando to Sanford
• He says the commute was eating into daily productivity

Those frustrations were enough to force Ron Cook to move his business out of downtown Orlando.

Cook came up with the smartphone app “Distrx” to give smaller downtown communities across the country a smartphone guide for visitors.  The app initially did well.  But Cook says driving from his home in Sanford to Distrx’s office in downtown Orlando was holding his business back.

“Some days as you know you just can’t get there,” Cook said.

“I’ve actually been late to meetings in downtown Orlando when I’ve allowed an hour to get there," he said. “And we’re not that far.”

Cook says the commute was eating into daily productivity.

“They would refer to us as the I-4 hostages,” he said.

In early 2018, Cook decided to move Distrix’s headquarters from Orlando to Sanford.  He says the move has allowed him to reclaim about two hours of productivity each workday.  And he says that’s allowed Distrx to expand further. 

The app now works with cities from across the country.  Cook says it helps to now be in one of the communities his app is designed for.

“A place where you can park, stroll, shop and dine without ever having to get back into your car,” Cook said. “So downtown Sanford is a perfect example.”

Cook says he doesn’t miss the daily commute on I-4.

“It’s going to be fabulous once it’s done but I don’t know if you’ve noticed – it’s not done,” he said.

Cook says he did use SunRail for a while to avoid I-4, but when he moved his downtown Orlando office further from the SunRail station he says it no longer made sense.