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Five Years of Demand
This month Demand Media celebrated our Five-Year anniversary as each office took time to savor the moment with their friends and colleagues that help make this journey so rewarding.  I’m a person who spends all of my time looking forward. But today I have the rare pleasure of reflecting on what’s happened over the past 1,800 days. It’s impossible to fully convey such a journey in the short form of a blog post, so I’m going to share perspectives on the four things that stand out to me the most about the business of Demand Media -- our People, Products, Partners and Impact. People By far, the most amazing part of the Demand Media experience has been the exceptional people that we’ve brought together. They are incredibly positive, innovative, committed, talented, passionate, respectful, purposeful and diverse. It’s their energy that propels me each morning when I walk in the office. And I am not alone. Over and over again we are told by our new hires that interactions with this team convinced them to join us. Our employee surveys reiterate that this is indeed the secret to our success.  The founding executive team that joined me and Shawn five years ago are not only all still here – but they are fired up and working harder than ever, continuously reinventing the company and taking on the next big opportunity. This kind of focused, entrepreneurial leadership team attracts and develops other great leaders, and I am continuously impressed by their impact every day. But our achievements are also fueled by the contributions of a wider circle of people than just those wearing their Demand Media hoodies to the office. We have attracted thousands of talented creative professionals to our studios, who star in and produce our videos, write and copy edit our articles and blog on a myriad of topics. Their knowledge, skill and drive enable us to deliver on the promise of Demand Media, and I am grateful that they choose to work side-by-side with us every day.  Products Over the past few years we’ve brought phenomenally innovative and successful products to market. Some of these products are behind the scenes solutions that other companies use to grow their business. Offerings like Pluck, CoveritLive, Content Channels and eNom come to mind. Some are consumer products that millions of people access every day and increasingly carry around with them on their mobile devices. These products include our websites and mobile applications. Yet others, like our innovative studios proprietary platforms that are behind the success of our owned and operated and partner properties. We’ve won our share of accolades, patents and industry awards. But, without a doubt, the best part of my week is when I get to roll-up my sleeves and get hands on with our product development teams. They take great pride in what they do and I really enjoy going deep with them as they figure out how to solve a big problem, transform consumer feedback into code or surprise a customer with a new feature. Partners I’ve always believed that one of the best ways to judge a person – or a business – is by the company they keep. And looking back on our milestones of the past five years, we have clearlyconnected with an awesome group of market leaders. Some of the highlights for me have been:
When people ask me how a relatively small company like Demand Media has managed to attract such a notable stable of business partners, I explain that it comes down to two things: The conversation starts because of their interest in our innovations, but the deal closes because of the collaborative spirit of the company. I love working deeply with partners and look forward to forging meaningful new relationships in the months and years ahead. Impact Like any data-driven Internet company we are swimming in numbers and growth charts. And while they tell us we’re charting a course into the rarified air of the top Internet companies, I find my satisfaction with running the business comes from the direct feedback I receive from our consumers. Watching over the shoulder of another traveler reading an eHow article on their laptop at breakfast. Getting cornered at a cocktail party when a rabid Cracked.com fan learns our company is behind the laughs he counts on twice a day. Or seeing the life change on the faces (and bodies) of countless LIVESTRONG.COM members who rely upon us to help power their healthy achievements. While we start each day listening to the consumer – trying to decipher billions of signals to understand exactly what’s needed – the payoff comes from the proof points of the impact we’re making on everyday people. And it makes me hungry to do much, much more. All told, I have cherished the last five years, and it has been a unique gift to me and the rest of Demand Media’s leadership team. Our people and partners have helped us build remarkable products that make a difference in the lives of millions of people. We get to compete on the most visible stage at the most interesting time in the history of business. And we constantly remind each other how much is still left to do. Can it get any better? I believe it does and it will. And five years from now I’ll be blogging (or using some other new and innovative medium) to tell you all about it!
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