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Brian Wynne Williams

Established Today in 1999

By Viget Labs in General
Dec. 27, 2008 | 9 comments

By Brian Wynne Williams, CEO & Co-Founder, in General
Dec. 27, 2008 | 9 comments

It's the holidays.  For our holiday party, we always like to give gifts to the Viget staff.  This year part of that gift was my new favorite bit of clothing: my Viget Hoodie.

viget-hoodie_01 

Most people probably don't know why I like this particular piece of garb so much, though, so I thought I'd share.

Nine years ago last week, I left the cozy confines of Boulder for a holiday visit with my family in Reston.  It was an exciting time, because the decision to "do Viget" was finally becoming a reality.  As we made that big decision to commit ourselves full-time to building Viget into a real company, it became clear that the best time to really start was still a few months away (enough time for me to move back to the DC area, among other things).

Since the decision was made, though, Pop had a suggestion.  Over Christmas dinner (or something close) he said we should incorporate the company before the end of the year so that "years from now we can say we were established in the 90's."  He said it with his trademark sarcastic chuckle, probably thinking of it as more of a joke than a first order of official business.  Since it was a good idea, though, we just did it.  Exactly 9 years ago today Andy incorporated Viget Labs, LLC in Virginia, and we started billing clients as a real company. 

When we talk about being "established in 1999," it always reminds me of Pop.  It reminds me of how hard he worked -- as our first developer, no less -- to lay the foundation of what we still do today; of how much he loved Viget and what we stand for; and, maybe most of all, how much he believed that we'd manage to be around long enough for 1999 to seem like such a long time ago.

As you might expect, we especially miss Pop during this time of year.  Seeing "Established 1999" on my hoodie makes me thankful that he was with us 9 years ago and for the first few years of our existence as a real company.  We wouldn't be here now without him.

Todd Wickersty said  on  12/27  at  11:54 AM

Congrats to Brian and all of Viget! It has been a pleasure working with you guys and I hope for more success in the future.

Radar said  on  12/27  at  11:59 AM

I’ve really enjoyed following this great success story for the past nine years. Best wishes to Brian, Andy and the entire Viget team for a safe, healthy and prosperous new year.

Brian Wynne Williams said  on  12/27  at  12:09 PM

@Todd—Thanks!  Good to see the Bullpen going strong as well.

@Radar—Happy New Year to you!  You were there with us from the start—we couldn’t have done it without you.

linda williams said  on  12/27  at  08:43 PM

I think working with all the guys at Viget was the most fun Pop ever had.  Many wishes for many more good years.

Phil Cogan said  on  12/27  at  10:07 PM

Brian, I’m pleased to have seen Viget and the whole team grow into an incredible, classy creative force in the industry. I’m especially happy that you’ve demonstrated that quality and creative can be accompanied by having fun.  Here’s to many more similar years.

JD Kathuria said  on  12/27  at  10:30 PM

Brian - Congrats on building a great company

I will never forgot the days in your old office building late at night eating pizzas.  :)

JD

Brian Wynne Williams said  on  12/28  at  11:21 AM

@Mom—You are the best. I love you!

@Phil—Great to hear from you!  Thanks for all the support over the years.

@JD—The days of late night pizzas aren’t gone, but thankfully that old office building is ... ;-)

Cindy Caldwell said  on  12/30  at  12:50 PM

I miss Pop too!  He couldn’t BELIEVE how often we ordered Lost Dog for FLF back in the day.  And, he was the only one old enough to relate to some of my own cultural references!  He was a good guy.

mindy said  on  12/30  at  05:41 PM

Great story - he sounds like a very inspirational guy. I can see where you guys get it from!

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