channel—with some “tweeting back and forth with [Zappos CEO] Tony Hsieh, saying, ‘We think we can save you money on DNS,’” says Hitchcock. That eventually led to an introduction, and after the usual due diligence, the e-retailer has signed on for the past three years.
Since 2009, Dyn has expanded into e-mail delivery services, along with making three acquisitions: EveryDNS, a rival based in San Francisco, EditDNS, an Arizona-based DNS firm, and SendLabs, a New Hampshire-based e-mail delivery startup. Last year Dyn opened a small labs division, overseen by Daly, charged with working on partnerships and finding new areas for the company to dive into.
But its underlying technology hasn’t shifted much—rather, it has remained key to businesses whose Web presence has become increasingly important. “People are approaching these core fundamentals in the context of everything changing,” Hitchcock says. “A lot of [our business] is making it more accessible and easier when people use more heterogeneous [IT] environments.”
Last year, Hitchcock says, Dyn’s revenue was in the “high teens” of millions, as compared to $10.3 million in 2010 and $3.7 million in 2007. The company plans to grow to as many as 175 employees by the end of 2012, he says. And look for Dyn to add to its stable of 17 data centers around the world. While Hitchcock continues to fend off venture capitalists with a stick, he says the company has no plans to take a growth funding round or make any big changes to its structure. “We could be more profitable, but I think the work-life balance is more than worth it,” Hitchcock says.
So where does Dyn go from here? It’s certainly interesting to see a company born from the ashes of the dot-com bust build a sustainable business on that next wave of Web companies. “Our master plan is we’ll be more and more important” in the Internet world, Hitchcock says. Now, with the explosion of mobile Web technologies and devices, Dyn will have to maneuver carefully to keep growing.
“It’s hard to predict where stuff is going. We have to be nimble and adaptive,” he says. “The only thing you can do is have constant vigilance.”
