Zeek celebrates 20 years

Steve Zehngut - June 1, 2015

Zeek Interactive launched on June 1, 1995 in Orange County as a the next great CD-ROM game company. And CD-ROM games died on June 2, 1995. (Google it. That’s the actual date. Not really.) We learned quickly to adapt with the times. We have been a Shockwave game company, a Flash developer, a kiosk developer, and a web developer. Now, 20 years later, we focus on 2 core competencies: mobile and WordPress development.

WordPress developers Orange County meet-up
Full house at a meetup of the OC WordPress group

I started this company purely out of naiveté. Zeek had no clients, zero prospects and no business plan. But what we had was a passion for digital stuff. We didn’t make a dime for the first year and a half, but I spent my time telling anyone who would listen about my ideas. And then, we landed our first client: Lynda Keeler. She hired us to develop 5 Shockwave games (hey, remember Macromedia Director?) for the movie Multiplicity. And things took off from there.

These days, we are developing and maintaining websites and apps for Fortune 500 companies, large news portals, lifestyle brands, academics…the list goes on. We work hard to create customized solutions for our clients’ business needs, and I couldn’t be more proud of my team.

Beyond the work produced at the office, Zeek is also the home of Orange County, CA’s WordPress meetup community, hosting three meetings each month for WordPress developers, designers, and general users. All the work we produce is powered by WordPress (yes, even our apps), so it’s important to us to give back. WordPress is open source in every sense of the idea, and it’s a privilege to be able to provide space for the unrestricted exchange of knowledge and ideas, helping make current developers better while creating a space for up-and-comers to hone their skills. I first met half my team at our meetups.

While it’s anyone’s guess what interactive technology will be available 20 years from now, Zeek looks forward to finding out. We’ll still be here.

-Zengy