How it started vs. how it’s going: A group photo of silverorange from 2002, three years after our founding (LEFT) and a group photo with most of silverorange (and some friends) as we were in August of 2024 (RIGHT).

This week (in August of 2024), silverorange turned 25 years old. While we didn’t throw a big party like we did for our 20th anniversary, we did gather together on Prince Edward Island to enjoy each other’s company (get it?), as we do every summer. Seeing most of us together like this highlights how we’ve grown and changed over the years.

When we got started in 1999, we were 7 people in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

In 2024 we are 38 people spread across 8 provinces (and one Canadian working abroad in the US):

• 12 on Prince Edward Island
• 9 in British Columbia
• 7 in Ontario
• 3 in Alberta
• 2 in Quebec
• 2 in Nova Scotia
• 1 in New Brunswick
• 1 in Manitoba
• and one Canadian working in the US

The completionists among us are glaringly aware of our absence in Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and the territories.

While our numbers have grown from 7 to 38 over the years, we’ve also become a much more diverse group.

• We hail from over 10 different countries around the world.
• As a group, we speak at least 16 languages fluently (not including programming languages).

As we note in our job ads:

“People with different backgrounds and experiences make us stronger, and we’re always looking for ways to improve. Our team is getting more diverse across many dimensions of diversity, but we’re still missing perspectives that could make our work better.”

My own 25 years

While most of our original founders remain involved in the company in some capacity, I’m the only founding member that is still working full-time for the company 25 years later.

I’ve been asked how it feels to be the “last” founder still working full-time with the company. My answer is: it feels great because the company is a vibrant place with all kinds of great new people. There is a healthy respect for our long history, but the culture isn’t overly focused on the past or the founders.

I’m much happier to be part of a vital company than one that remains unchanged from the “old days.” This very change is why I’ve been happy to spend 25 years here (and am happy to keep going): the company is always changing, the technology is always changing, and the job is always changing.

At this point, a quarter century into the life of our company, we’re a stronger and more extraordinary group of people than we’ve ever been. Here’s to the next 25 years.