Today is a bit of a milestone for me as it marks the fifteenth anniversary of my business.

Cast your mind back to the summer of 1996 – the Summer Olympic Games had just started in Atlanta, Wannabee by the Spice Girls was on the radio and the X Files were on TV.   And I left a perfectly good salaried job to set up on my own.

Fifteen years, four computers, five mobile phones, three offices, one recession, two banks, 5,319 tweets and who knows how many emails later Thirlwall Associates is still here.

When I set up in business the internet was still a novelty but being a bit of a geek I had a £10 a month dial up account with Demon.   My dad made my business possible by buying me a computer that cost an unbelievable £1,500, complete with a 3.5″ floppy drive. As browsing the internet tidied up the phone line and also cost money, it was a good job that websites were basic and not that engaging.

Demon Internet website in 1996 from the Internet Archive

I also have the business plan I wrote when I started, and I think that my views then still hold true.   Thank you to everyone I’ve met along the way for making those fifteen years immense fun!