In August of 1996, Michael Marcil, Sean Kramer and Chad Herring were discussing an idea that they had come up with to provide Internet advertising to small and mid sized businesses. They were fascinated with all of the new technology and how it was changing the business world. As they started to pay more attention to the advancements they realized that because of the costs involved (along with the lack of general knowledge), small and mid-sized businesses were having a hard time taking advantage of the advances.
During these discussions they came up with the idea for a turn-key approach to Internet advertising. By having a set procedure, and a large volume of advertisements, they could then provide the products and services at a highly affordable cost. Mike, Sean and Chad knew that they could reach a vast number of potential advertisers while still keeping their expenditures within budget. So the plan was born.
Working out of Sean's two bedroom apartment, with just a phone, fax and one computer, he, Mike and Chad proceeded to go through all the steps needed to establish a company. On September 14, 1996 they incorporated AdverWorld with the North Dakota Secretary of State's' office and on October 5, held an informational meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota to introduce their company.
During this time they also rented office space that they felt would last their little company at least 6 months and maybe a year. By the end of October, AdverWorld had received over 10,000 orders for Web pages! At that point in time there were 3 web developers on staff and it became all too evident that not only did they need more office space, but they also needed more employees. Mike, Sean and Chad did what had to be done. They rented more space and started hiring more people, even going out to Washington state to recruit highly experienced people for their technical staff.
On November 1, 1996, AdverWorld officially went online, and interest continued to grow. The company was literally receiving hundreds of web page orders a day. This unforeseen, explosive growth presented many challenges, not the least of which was keeping up with the orders. They continued to hire more web developers (most of which were recruited from local colleges), expand office space and start the process of expanding the technical capabilities that they originally believed would last them at least a year. The initial projection for January 1, 1997, was approximately 6,000 advertisements. In reality it turned out to be close to 16,000! It took a great deal of determination, commitment, and persistence to face and confront the obstacles as they occurred.
Mike, Sean and Chad also realized that they needed to surround themselves with people who had a great deal of experience in this new medium. They attended Internet conferences and began relationships with experts. These consultants have flown to Fargo and spent extensive time at the company, advising on everything from technical questions to work flow. The responsibility to the employees, Independent Representatives and most of all the customers of AdverWorld has not been lost on these three young owners.
As of February 1, 1997, AdverWorld has 100 full and part-time employees, thousands of Independent Representatives (who sell the Internet advertisements) and approximately 20,000 advertisements, all in the time span of 120 days. All this made AdverWorld one of the largest, and fastest growing companies in the Internet, in the world! And it's only just beginning.
As with all new businesses, AdverWorld has experienced many growing pains and also great rewards. The most remarkable component of this adventure has been the connection and cooperation between employees, Independent Representatives, customers and suppliers working together to achieve the vision of three young men, and make AdverWorld the wonderful success story it is today.