As we celebrate TrendyMinds’ 25th anniversary (you can officially tell us “happy birthday” on December 5, 2020), we’ve been getting pretty sentimental around here. After all, we really like this company and (mostly) everything that we do here. It’s probably a good thing we’re doing all this reflecting from home and not together while gazing thoughtfully out the window of Timbers, our in-office bar. The whole “I’ve just got something in my eye” trick is a lot more believable over Zoom. In pulling together all of the things we’d like to say about our 25th anniversary, we thought: who better to ask than the folks who have been here the longest? They’re full of knowledge, experience, wisdom, and probably some secrets and embarrassing stories, too. Read on to see what they’ve learned and what might be on the horizon for TrendyMinds.Trevor Yager, President & CEO (25 years) "Our past has been filled with highs and lows. Thankfully, we’ve had more highs than lows. And while there’s no book to read or map to follow that guides our journey, I’ve learned that each day is an opportunity to try something new and learn from the results. I feel fortunate to be able to do this work and look forward to a bright future."Jon Immel, Sr. Vice President (15 years) “It's crazy to think about how far TrendyMinds has come since I was hired in 2005. There were only three of us at the time, and we all worked from the same office above Trevor's garage. Now we have almost 70 team members with expertise across so many different areas. It's exciting to come to work every day and collaborate with so many talented people.“Looking back, the biggest thing I've learned is to prepare for the unexpected. I would never have predicted most of the things that have happened over the past 15 years: Trevor attending the State of the Union, creating the film service line, moving to new offices, acquiring new clients, and so much more. I'm excited to see how the agency continues to improve and evolve in the future.”Tyler Murray, Sr. Vice President & COO (10 years) “When I started at TrendyMinds 10 years ago, we were a small but mighty agency of seven. Today, I have the honor of working with 67 talented colleagues. I believe that our 25th consecutive year of growth is a direct reflection of our founder’s consistent leadership and the many passionate, professional team members who have contributed along the way.“Change and challenges are nearly certain, but based on our history, our future will be exciting and successful — I am thankful to be a part of it.”Seth Benson, Design Director (10 years) “I think there were seven or eight people here when I came on board in 2010. Seeing 10 times growth over 10 years is pretty astounding to be a part of. I’ve been fortunate enough to see our team expand through a variety of spaces, org charts, and service offerings as our clients’ needs have necessitated that growth.“One thing that has never changed through all of that is in the dozens of interviews I’ve sat in on over the years. The interviewee asks a single question in most every one of them: ‘What do you love about working here?’ And, without hesitation, everyone in the room almost always answers: ‘The people.’ That’s always been a pretty special part of what makes this team shine.”Jason Drake, Executive Producer (8 years) “When I started, we had a temporary office on Mass Ave. Everyone was squeezed into one room with one bathroom. Since then, we’ve grown into multiple renovated offices, and now we’re all working from home. We’ve grown the video and animation team from one person (me) to 16 people. We’ve also grown our equipment from a small DSLR kit to a fully-stocked studio and vans full of cinema gear.“I love the people in this company. Everyone cares a lot for the craft and for each other. In the future, I think we’ll have an office on Mars.”Lori Ludwig, Design Director (8 years) “My first day at TrendyMinds was also the first day at the new office on Market Street with roughly 16 people. I could have never imagined we'd be a company of almost 70 people now. Since growing the team, we've been able to grow our skillset, which then expands the services we're able to execute for our clients. It's been a fun journey to be with a company this long and see how much growth we've gone through and still are going through. “We learn something new on every project we work on and then adapt what we've learned to future projects. It's something that I love about working here — you're constantly evolving your craft. “The people here are everything. We have such a talented team from all different backgrounds who all care about each other inside and outside of the office. We all want each other to succeed, it really does feel like a family.”Abby Balbach, Copy & Content Director (8 years) “In my eight years at TrendyMinds, I’ve seen the company quadruple in size. We’ve added new faces, new teams, and new services but have remained firmly rooted in the culture that has always made this company a great place to work and grow.”