A Decade of Fairway

Jan 27, 2012 // by Brett Humphrey // Blog // 1 Comment

Has it really been 10 years? It certainly doesn’t seem like it, but judging by the desolate patch of forehead I used to call a hairline it may as well have been 50 years.

Things may be different today, but nothing’s really changed and I’m proud of that. When I started Fairway 10 years ago I set out to work with only the people I wanted to work with. The best and brightest from my own small but deeply talented nexus of engineering friends and acquaintances. Our goal was simple; to provide the highest quality software development services in town. I believe we’ve achieved that, and had a lot of fun and made (and brewed) a lot of memories along the way.

Fairway’s humble roots sprouted from my spare bedroom in 2002, where dogs and leaf blowers could not deter the first crack team of engineers who called Fairway home. At the patient but incontrovertible insistence of my Chief Spousal Officer we soon moved our nascent operation to a 600 square-foot office space located below a public bathroom that leaked into the walls and attracted individuals generally not in need of software development services. It was in this office that we established some of our most cherished rituals, such as foosball penalty ice cream cones, D&D night, and our now legendary brewfests.

In 2006 we moved onward and literally upward, to a larger office space above a liquor store and adjacent to a pot shop. In retrospect this was probably not the smartest decision, and I soon feared a cataclysmic erosion of productivity that fortunately never materialized. At least we had an ocean view; our own little sliver of La Jolla horizon huddled behind telephone wires and a conspicuously placed China Chef sign.

Which brings us to our present day Fairway; glittery new offices in a very respectable (at least until we arrived) office building in the idyllic heart of La Jolla village. Interestingly (or perhaps not so), the financial district doesn’t seem to like or appreciate technologists. Even my sign on the front door, “solicitors will be persecuted,” is met with chuffs of disgruntled indignation. I enjoy the contrast of being the Clampetts of the neighborhood though. All we need is a couch on the front porch and an El Camino on blocks to really top it off.

Over the years clients, employees, successes and failures have come and gone. I count myself lucky to have worked with friends as both clients and employees, and am luckier to have remained so when some have chosen to move on. We’ve spent 10 years assembling a team of amazingly talented technology gurus who also happen to be amazing people. This coalescence of talent is the huge benefit of working with people you know well and trust, and one of the important elements of Fairway’s secret sauce.

In reflecting on my time at Fairway and the unfathomably fortunate path we’ve charted over the years, it’s hard to imagine doing any of it without the blood, sweat and tears of some of my closest friends and business associates. People are what make Fairway great, and we’re lucky to work with some of the smartest, coolest (in the nerdy sense), hardest-working people in southern California.

So after 10 years, I guess all I have to say is thanks! Thanks to our passionate crew of technocrats who’ve made Fairway one of San Diego’s best (and coolest) places to work, to our customers who have put their faith in us to deliver bullet proof software time after time, and to everyone else who has supported us in our endeavor to provide the highest quality software development services in town.

Thank you, and here’s to another 10 years!