VentureWeb - Behind the scenes of our new website

The company we are referring to is VentureWeb. We recently caught up with the owner and founder of VentureWeb, James Morris, to learn more about this local agency. Here is what he had to say:

Tell us a bit about the history of VentureWeb and how you got into digital marketing?

It’s a bit of a long story, so this is the condensed version. Back in 2000 after five years of global travelling, I completed a Post Grad in New Media Studies. I wanted to transfer the skills and experiences that I had developed in the adventure tourism industry with my new found skills in this evolving medium. The result was a niche-focused career in marketing adventure experiences for outfitters, brands and destinations.

In 2002, I immigrated to the Sea to Sky corridor and immediately saw an opportunity to develop a business that focused more on results and transparency. At the time there was a lot of smoke and mirrors particularly in the areas of search engine marketing. As such, VentureWeb started in 2004 as a moonlighting business. It rapidly gained momentum so much so that in 2006 it became my full-time focus.

In 2007, I managed to hire two fantastic people in the form of Olly Walker (the brains behind VW) and Jamie Bond who really set the benchmark for the company. Since then we have grown the team with AJ, Gill and more recently Roger, Jesse, Christy, Andrew and Chris.

VentureWeb has been very fortunate to have so many amazingly talented people who not only share in the vision but who also enjoy the challenges of growing a company.

What makes VentureWeb different than other web design companies out there?

Firstly, I think the term “web design”, while being the popular vernacular, only represents a limited portion of what we do at VentureWeb.

I think the first point of difference is that we are niche focused – we only work with adventurous experiences, destinations and brands.

Secondly, when we started VentureWeb, we focused hard on leveraging digital tools to build real value for our clients, and this remains as relevant today as it did then. Today our clients are bigger and their demands are more complex, but our focus on building value remains the same. We build each project specific to a clients unique needs. We don’t white paper our offerings and no two VentureWeb projects are alike.

James and his team at work. Photo credit AJ Barlas

With such a large tech industry down the road (in Vancouver), why did you choose to operate VentureWeb out of Squamish?

I am not really a city person. I have lived in big international cities in the past, but I prefer smaller towns. I really wanted to build the business here in Squamish so we can enjoy the lifestyle and have a career too.

Because we focus on this adventurous niche, Squamish has become quite symbiotic in VentureWeb’s evolution. Squamish attracts many amazingly talented people who are like-minded, skilled and love the same kind of after office activities we all enjoy. So recruitment and retention wise, positioning VentureWeb in Squamish has been an unexpected but overwhelming success.

Finally, as a Squamish business owner, I think it is our responsibility to try to build Squamish as a great place for creative/technology businesses to evolve. So we will proudly continue to build our agency amongst Squamish’s fantastic lifestyle with rewarding careers.

What are some other well-known websites that VentureWeb created?

Some of our favourites are: The Wickaninnish Inn, Santa Cruz Bicycles, Genuine Guide Gear, Tourism Squamish, Ski Marmot Basin, Tourism Tofino.

Finally, what are you most excited for with the opening of the Sea to Sky Gondola?

Great question. It is really hard to know… Can I say All of it?

I am very excited to bring my kids up there for all kinds of adventures. I can see myself enjoying a cool beer while enjoying the view from the deck after the hike up there. I can also see it being a great adventure for our (Grand) parents and families.

Finally I can’t wait to see the Gondola open for business. We have been very blessed to be involved with such a game-changing project, with such an awesome and inspiring group of people.

For More information on VentureWeb, please visit there website: www.ventureweb.net.