Happy Barbarian Day
posted by Rick Webb 
on December 11, 2009 at 01:07 PM
filed under: Barbarian History and Barbarian News
Rick Webb
Co-founder, COO : New York
topics: Viral Marketing, Automotive, Agile and Scrum, Nonprofit, and Social Networking and Community
filed under: Barbarian History and Barbarian News
So. Today is December 11, 2009. This means today is the eighth birthday of The Barbarian Group. Eight years ago today, a slightly strange gentleman named Brian Costello went to some mysterious governmental office and filed a certificate, so that we could get a bank account, so that we could deposit a check we had received from Wieden+Kennedy, our first client, and, thus, start our business.
It was three months after 9/11. Benjamin and I had quit our jobs, and Keith somehow managed to start a company with us even though he was working full time at another digital shop. Kind of impressive. Robert had been working “freelance” for a while, and Jay and Brian were at, get this, a consultancy that specialized in the oil and gas industry (ironically, Dawn worked there as well).
The check was for $10,000. Our first payment on a $20,000 job. At the time, it seemed like more money than we could possibly imagine.
We worked out of Benjamin’s loft, and we could all smoke there. Because we all smoked back then. I actually wrote actionscript, I think for the last time. It was a zip code validator. Everyone wanted to talk to Keith, who was the only one really making anything, and so we wrote on a little piece of wood that became the “Keith Pass.” You had to be holding the Keith Pass to talk to Keith. Otherwise you had to leave him alone. In hindsight, we really should have kept that up. I think ultimately Keith’s girlfriend (now wife!) stole it. A wise move.
Oh oh! Also! Benjamin made his first executive decision as CEO. I don’t remember what it was, but we were all like “woah.”
Oh and Keith claimed if he ever had to work a weekend again he would quit. HAHAHAHAHAHA!
I’m super proud of all we’ve accomplished in this time, and super proud of the people who work here. They are the best. They are awesome. We’ve grown and evolved so much, but the one thing that’s stayed the same since the beginning is that the culture has stayed amazing, and the people here have kept it that way. Thank you.
And happy birthday, Barbarians!
5 comments
Keep kicking ass guys.
The support from the Barbarians has been phenomenal and I will always look for the way to return the favor.
You are some of the smartest, coolest folks, and I'm lucky to know ya.
Happy Birthday!
I'm also pretty sure -- something like 93.7% that the 1st executive decision was around the clients we would accept, and we would pass on. For instance, we would not take tobacco money -- it was announced a smoke filled room. MSFT was also on the list.