There are few major milestones in life. Celebrating your company’s 30th birthday is a rarity, indeed.
Started in an apartment near UCLA, officially on the day of graduation in 1987, Loren Data and I have grown up with the digital age.
Fondly, I remember the early days of CP/M, WordStar, DOS, Clipper, NetWare, coaxial Ethernet and Carbon Copy (which allowed me to remotely control client computers over dial-up modems; and exclaiming to my friend after upgrading a pair of 2400baud modems to 9600bps that it was “just like sitting there!”).
The thrill of landing a contract with the US Air Force in 1992 at 27 years of age.
In 1994 with the domain name LD.com, we set up our first website to delivery free, digital access to The Commerce Business Daily, using a 56kbs dedicated line through our internet provider to our hosting provider, rahul.net, in the Bay Area.
I have had the honor of working with amazing IT professionals, including Internet icons such as Jon Postel, the father of DNS.
It has been a great joy seeing people and companies take the tools that Loren Data has invented and develop applications we had never imagined.
However, the most precious part of running a business for 30 years is the people who have come to work with me, sharing their passions, contributing their skills and a spending a good portion of their waking hours committed to Loren Data’s success.
I am honored by seeing their successes: my earliest office assistant, whose love of flying has lead him to his dream job: the Chief Pilot for Disney; families starting and growing; birthdays, anniversaries, graduations…and so much more.
One cannot run a successful business without understanding that the company is an integral part of each and every employee’s and their family’s lives, and that respect is a two-way street.
In the early days of Loren Data, I was asked how I would define success in business. My response then as it is today: to be the company know as The Best Place to Work. That pursuit never ends.
Business is a team game, and I’m proud to say that 30 years later, Loren Data has a great team.
-=tg=-