In a remarkable stretch from the mid-1990's to the early 2000's, a relatively small group of people started playing around with this thing called the World Wide Web, trying to make sense of what it was all about.
Rather than being pure technologists, the people came from multidisciplinary backgrounds and were geeky enough to understand the tech, but creative enough to bring the tech to life. This mishmash of curious, driven humanity created the very first popular web sites and online media properties, and started some of the first and most successful digital agencies of their day.
The world of the World Wide Web was relatively small, and while competition was fierce, they all knew they were lucky enough to be creating something that was way bigger than any of them.
Hosted by Kyle Shannon who co-founded AGENCY.COM in 1995 and Ritesh Patel, who served as VP of Technology there, this project introduces you to the OG players from those hallowed days, and lets them tell you what it was like, and how... You Shoulda Been There!
Kyle Shannon @kyleshannon
Kyle Shannon is the Co-Founder & CEO of Storyvine, a Guided Video platform that automates video production and is on a mission to democratize video storytelling. He's been an innovator in the digital marketing space for more than 25 years, with multiple successful ventures to his name.
Trained as an actor, Kyle pursued careers in acting and screenwriting in NYC in the 80’s and 90’s, and in 1994 founded the World Wide Web Artists Consortium (WWWAC) as well as launching award-winning Urban Desires, the first online art & culture magazine.
During that time, Kyle paired up with Chan Suh and the pair co-founded pioneering digital marketing firm AGENCY.COM in 1995. Kyle served as Chief Creative Officer, and later Chief People Officer and helped grow the firm from two people to more than 2,200 in less than five years! After a successful IPO on the NASDAQ in 1999 the company was sold to Omnicom in 2002.
Every time Kyle tells a story from those formative early days, he hears things like “you should write a book” or “that would make a great podcast!” Having just celebrated the 25th Anniversary of starting AGENCY.COM, he agrees that there are lots of stories that need to be shared, and You Shoulda Been There is the result.
Contact Kyle if you have stories from the early days too!
Ritesh Patel @ritters90
Ritesh bills himself as a digital and social evangelist, and he has been evangelizing digital since the early days of the dot com boom in the late 1990's. As a young man, he joined AGENCY.COM and quickly began to consult with major fortune 500 companies to evangelize the merits of the World Wide Web.
Along the way, he has worked for the likes of Havas, Cushman & Wakefield and began a deep dive into the healthcare arena in 2009 when he joined Inventiv Health as Head of Digital & innovation There he was a pioneer in the use of the emerging social media platforms, winning multiple awards for his work.
He joined Ogilvy in 2014, as the Chief Digital Officer for Ogilvy CommonHealth, the specialist health care agency within the Ogilvy Group. Ritesh now works within the Health Practice at Ogilvy Consulting where he consults with major clients on digital health, digital therapeutics, digital transformation and innovation in the healthcare arena globally.
Additionally, Ritesh supported and led the creation of the OCHWW Innovation Lab. The Lab has been responsible for showcasing the art of the possible. Voice-activated systems like Alexa and Google Home, connected homes, wearables, chatbots and AI are the subjects the Lab are focused to showcase how these tools and technologies have and will continue to impact healthcare in the not-too-distant future.
Ritesh now works within the Health Practice at Ogilvy Consulting where he consults with major clients on digital health, digital therapeutics, digital transformation and innovation in the healthcare arena globally. He is an outspoken digital evangelist who has lent his expert POV in a variety of forums over his 19+ year career. He is passionate about educating his peers and his clients about what the future of digital looks like for healthcare and, in addition to all the innovations he's been responsible for bringing forward, he has taken his mission on the road and speaks at a wide variety of digital and healthcare-centered events across the world.
Contact Ritesh if you have stories from the early days too!
