Webqem and Red Square merge

Webqem and Red Square have played an integral role in Newism’s existence. I’d like to say thanks.

Today, Webqem and Red Square officially announced they have merged.

Here’s the press-release (PDF).

Personally, this is fantastic news for me, as Webqem was where I learned everything about the web, and Red Square was one of the main companies that supported me in my early days of freelancing.

A brief history

Some time in early 2000 I had the honour of becoming Webqem’s first employee. I started working with them in their first Neutral Bay office, crammed in the same room alongside Steve Whistler, Andrew Crowe and Stewart Johnston (Larry Adler had the good fortune to be in his own office). After being wedged between the two passionate personalities of Steve and Andrew for a month, someone noticed the amount of company sponsored Red Bull I was drinking, and wisely moved me out of the firing line. It was smooth sailing from then on.

I came to the Webqem with next to no skill at all. In fact, I think I got the job based on the only website design I had done at that point. I can only assume it was my charm and good looks that got me in the door.

It wasn’t long before I was churning out site designs, Flash banners and games, email designs, and even the odd bit of ColdFusion. I distinctly remember cramming a full weekend of intense HTML study in order to meet the minimum requirements for the Advanced ColdFusion course I’d been signed up for. Clearly Dreamweaver wasn’t going to cut it anymore.

That didn’t get in the way of my arrogance of course. When I think back, I must have been a nightmare from an employer’s perspective. Constantly arguing, always knowing better. I would have fired me in a second. Still, I developed tremendous respect for my ever-tolerant employers, both as skilled practicioners and as people. I’m happy to call them my peers and my friends, and I really do miss spending time with them and their wonderful families.

Simon Dougall at my Webqem farewell.

Back to the future

A surprise arrival in the form of my first child forced me to re-evaluate a few things, and the second arrival made it clear two years later. I left Webqem after five fantastic years, and with their full support headed north to my home town of Newcastle. Steve Whistler in particular regularly encouraged me to start freelancing, but it took me 12 months to take the plunge. As usual, and to his immense satifaction no doubt, he was right, and it wasn’t long before I was working 80 hours a week from my home office.

One of the first companies I approached when I started freelancing was Red Square. I’d heard quite a bit about them (probably from Steve), and their core business was very similar to that of Webqem so they seemed like a good match for my skillset. A meeting in Sydney later and I was on the team.

I have always been impressed with Red Square’s level of professionalism and quality, and in particular the never waning enthusiasm that director Tony Redhead has about new technology. Red Square has a great team, and there’s a real family vibe there. Like Webqem, they always made me feel welcome, and that I played an integral part; something I hope I can foster among Newism’s current and future employees.

Web Square? Redqem?

There is no doubt that Newism would not be what it is today without the support of these two companies, and for that they have my sincere gratitude. I can’t wait to see how they get on, and I’m looking forward to seeing them all again at WQ headquarters. Of course the merger will mean great things for all those concerned. Red Square will slot in quite nicely.

So thanks to Web Square; or is it Redqem? In particular, I’d like to personally thank Steve and Tony for being such wonderful mentors and friends.

On behalf of Leevi and I, we wish you all the best of luck, and look forward to working with you in future (albeit under the one roof).