It seems like so long ago that we were all gathered for our inaugural meetup at the New Arts Project in Santa Rosa, CA. The date was Wednesday, April 27th 2011, and we had no idea what we were doing. We didn’t know how many people would come, if any, and we had no clue just how many of us web industry people existed in the North Bay. We definitely had no way of knowing we would go from a couple dozen strangers that night to a close-knit community of 400 (over 500 if you count the Facebook group) Wimps.
For me, it was the first time I would meet my husband-to-be. But, if you can imagine, that night means so much more to me than even that.
At the time, we called ourselves the North Bay Web Pros. It wasn’t long before we ditched the name and found our brand and the beginnings of our culture with the title of WIMP. The name was decided upon based on a culmination of our plans to have an eclectic multidisciplinary community paired with our aspirations to one day break out of Sonoma County and spread elsewhere. Now, we finally have the opportunity to attempt to do that. Hopefully by the end of 2014 we will see our first satellite group spin off and start growing. Time will tell!
The strength and impact of WIMP can’t only just be expressed in our numbers. Our community is a shining example of getting back what you put in. A recent member survey showed that the more involvement our members have had in both real-life meetups and in our Facebook group, the more successful they have been professionally.
What our members say is the best thing they’ve gotten out of WIMP
“We’re better than the sum of our parts ~ Everything is better for everyone when we cooperate rather than compete.”
“Tips and community building”
“The network. Easily the network.”
“The information shared by the experts”
“The community support.”
“A safety net that gives me the confidence to take on work slightly outside of my current skill set.”
“resources and ideas galore”
“New relationships and membership in a vital and diverse community.”
“New business and friendships”
“Making great connections with people that could transpire into long-term relationships.”
“Its a great community and networking opportunity to have in the North Bay”
“It’s really nice to connect and have a local network.”
“Friendships”
“Connection to local peers in our niche”
“Connections.”
“A sense of community.”
“Advice and comradeship.”
“A community of professionals and nerds in one place.”
To boldly go…
We can’t wait to see how far WIMP can go. The Indiegogo Campaign we’ve launched will give us the opportunity to get there, but only if we receive the support from our loyal membership in the form of actual dollars.
