Its true ... yesterday (yes the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2011) is also the 10th anniversary of Search Engine People.
In the 10 years since our inception, SEP has grown to become a team of 60+ people, a far cry from the office I originally maintained in the sunroom of my house.
Thanks:
SEP would not be the company it is today without its loyal clients, and its talented employees. I'd like to say a big thanks to our clients, for sticking with us year after year, and especially to those who have been with us now for 7, 8 and 9 years. Its been a great journey.
A big thanks also goes out to SEP's employees, for without them, we would not be where we are today. Each and every one of you deserves a big pat on the back and thank you, because you all bring something unique and special to the equation.
I'd also like to extend a big thanks to all our friends in the industry, who we've met on Sphinn, Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon, at various conferences, and so forth. Many of you have had a profound impact on the development of the company.
Interesting Tidbits:
1. While Ruud Hein has been SEP's longest serving employee (since 2002), none of the SEP team has ever met Ruud in person. Ruud .... do you really exist (:))? Today, Ruud is one of only a small handful of SEPers who work remotely.
2. The company's first purchase was a book ... "HTML for Dummies". When the company was formed, I did not know html, and knew I had to learn it if I was to proceed with launching the company.
3. SEP did not become "Search Engine People" officially until 2002. Instead, it began operations as QIMS (Quipp Internet Marketing Solutions).
4. SEP has been through 4 sets of offices in the first 10 years:
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a. the "home" office
b. The Durham Business Offices ... but we outgrew them in the matter of a year
c. Our Chambers Street address. There were only 7 of us when we moved into the 4000 square foot space, and it seemed barren, but we outgrew it in 3 short years.
d. our current 10,000 square foot facilities, which again seemed barren when we moved in, but we'll now outgrow by early 2012.
5. SEP has had 3 logos over the years:
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a. 2002 - 2003
b. 2003 - 2009
c. 2009-2011 (and we still haven't updated our website)
6. SEP has been on Profit Magazine's list of the "100 Fastest Growing Companies in Canada" for 3 consecutive years (2009, 2010, and 2011) ... a trend we hope continues!
Given all the success and developments we've seen over the past 10 years, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the company evolves in the next 10 years!