April, 1998. 4 months before Google was born, a year before Napster was born, and long before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Netflix, Spotify and Snapchat graced our computer screens and mobile devices. Hell, it was almost a decade before the first iPhone! Yes, before all of these iconic web companies and services existed, there was DANIMA!

Now, to be fair to the afore mentioned, life altering products and services, we haven't quite reached those heights in our 19 years of building web sites and offering web services to the folks of the Niagara Region and beyond! But, 19 years down that long internet road, we are still here and have watched the rise and fall of many web services and products including, MySpace, Netscape, Flash, WinAmp, Ask Jeeves and more!

The history of DANIMA is on our web site (www.danima.com), so I won't bore you with the details of how it all began, but I will say it was an exciting time. Nick, Matt and I were all working in our own 9-5 jobs, but the idea of starting a web company really motivated me. It created this fire inside and every waking moment that I wasn't working my 9-to-5, I was working on this new venture.

It all started with "Notepad" and some basic HTML and Photoshop skills that Matt taught me which, at the time, made us cutting edge...lol!! To say building sites has changed over the years is an understatement! Thankfully, we've continued to evolve our business over the years to keep up with the ever-changing world wide web. We've coded through the early years of the scrolling marquees, clip art, animated gifs (the old mailboxes and under construction signs), frames, full Flash sites, ....you name it, we did it!

A lot has fallen between 1998 and 2017. I realize it's very cliché to say that there have been a lot of ups and a lot of downs, but the truth is it's been a roller-coaster ride. What started as a side business grew into a home office and then finally into our own digs back in 2003. With the growth we had back in 2008 we moved to our current location but, as they say, all good things come to an end and the sudden growth gave way to downsizing in 2011. In 2012 we were faced with our biggest challenge...one that nearly put us out of business! Thankfully, with a lot of prayer, help from some of our great partners, a great staff, long nights, and a lot of hard work...we made it through a very bleak time. By the Fall of 2015 it became apparent that we needed to re-think our core services and by the end of 2015, we began to transition out of the web hosting business. It was a very tough decision to move on from hosting, but it was time that we re-directed our business energies towards what we do best - Web, Print and Social Meda. Now, in the early parts of 2017, the future here at DANIMA is so bright, "I gotta wear shades"!

When we started this dog-and-pony-show (a Lettermanism), our television's were big and heavy, as were our computer monitors. We were watching Everybody Loves Raymond and Frazier on those big, heavy TV's and we were listening to Green Day and Springsteen (I still am...lol) on our boom boxes. We saved our work on floppy discs, our home stereos had 5 disc CD changers, we rented videos from Blockbuster, and we talked on flip phones.

Obviously, a lot has changed between 1998 and 2017. One thing that has not changed is that fire inside that helped launch DANIMA almost 2 decades ago! No matter how many times we've been knocked to the mat, we've gotten back up and continued to fight. 19 years later, I don't take this business for granted. I am grateful for the opportunity to get up every day and do something I love with great clients and a great team of talented individuals who have helped DANIMA evolve and succeed in a very competitive industry. It hasn't been easy, but in the words of East Nashville's own, Todd Snider, "I'm just happy to be here, at all".

I have some great titles: Dad, Coach, President, Boss...but one of my favorite is being DANIMA Dave (coined by my pal Johnnie Wahr)! It's one of several great gigs that I am blessed to have! Thanks to everyone who helped DANIMA make it to our 19th birthday. And thanks to the big guy upstairs who's guiding hand has helped me get here! Looking forward to the next 19 years.

Enjoy every sandwich,
DANIMADave