Derrick started his own web agency around 2001, called Axis 80 Interactive. At first, he worked with a lot of newspapers, including creating an open-source Content Management System (CMS) for news sites that, at one point, powered 50+ newspaper sites around the world.
He still does work for a few clients of Axis 80 Interactive, though he has not taken on any new clients in many years. Most of his work is for an agency in DC these days, which keeps him very busy.
Most recently, he launched a social media platform called Orbyt. This started as an experimental side project about 3 years ago. About two months ago he decided to open it up to the public. It has about 80 registered users at the moment. Derrick is aiming to reach 300 registered users in the first year, and eventually grow it much larger!
Extracurriculars
Derrick has an adventurous side with an eclectic list of hobbies! In high school in the 80s, he was part of breakdance crew that carried around a big piece of cardboard for spinning on, and a giant boombox that took a ridiculous number of D-batteries. Shortly thereafter, he got into the freestyle BMX craze. (This was a much bigger part of his life than the breakdance thing.) For a while he was sponsored by his local bicycle shop and Hutch BMX, one of the sport’s biggest manufacturers at the time! He drifted away from BMX until about a year ago when he picked it up again!
Derrick was part of the east coast rave scene during it’s heyday in the 1990s, when it was still underground in warehouses. He’s produced about 95 small-scale local raves and DJ events in Hagerstown and Frederick (including one in an airplane hangar) and helped to put on some bigger ones in DC and Baltimore. Derrick DJs occasionally under the name Styles Davis, but mostly his involvement has been as a small-scale local promoter.
He has a deep interest in economics, which he acknowledges most people find mind-numbingly boring, but he finds it fascinating!
Why we love Derrick
Derrick has been part of the Cowork Community for thirteen and a half years! We don’t know what it would be like without Derrick here (and we don’t want to know). He brings life to the group of members that make up our afternoon/evening crew. You can count on an enthusiastic, warm welcome from Derrick every time you see him – and hopefully a witty quip along with the greeting. Typically he comes baring tacos and a Starbucks drink, but if he hasn’t stocked up on goodies before arriving, you can expect an offer from Derrick to get in on the action when he does decide to grab something tasty. Derrick brings a steadiness, a quiet energy, and a genuine desire for connection that we couldn’t do without here.
Q&A with Derrick
How did you get into working with computers?
My dad bought the family a Commodore Vic 20 home computer. He and I sat there reading the manual for the BASIC programming language, to figure out how to code our own rudimentary video games. I really enjoyed the logic challenge of it, and was pretty much hooked instantly. I went through various other computers over the years, and taught myself programming on all of them.
My first big job with computers was in the IT department for the Herald-Mail newspaper in Hagerstown, where I worked for 8 years. There I helped to launch the paper’s first website, which is still online today.
After that, I worked for an ISP, a web agency in Georgetown (with clients like Kelloggs and USPS), and a Frederick web design shop owned by the Frederick News-Post. Fun fact: for a while I managed a site called digitalfrederick.com which was an early directory of websites and events around Frederick.
What inspires you and keeps you going?
First and foremost is putting tacos on the table. I love food so much, you have no idea.
Second is that I just really enjoy building things – my mind is constantly assembling independent things together into complex systems that solve some problem or another.
I enjoy creating businesses – not really for the sake of making money with them but because they solve some need in the world and scratch my itch to assemble things into working systems. I enjoy the challenge of it.
Cowork Frederick members tend to be a little unconventional. How does that apply to you?
I guess I have had a tolerance for risk that most people don’t have – though that has come at a cost in the form of stress.
Which of the guiding values defined by Cowork Frederick members speaks to you?
If I had to pick one it’d be tenacity. I’ve read a lot of stories of people who built amazing things by believing in a vision and sticking with it, not giving up even when others told them it would never work. I’ve personally had to tune out a lot of naysayers and people who told me that I should just play it safe and get a regular job. With that said, there’s a fine line between tenacity vs. knowing when it really is time to walk away from something to make room for something new.
Any tips for someone wanting to enter the same line of work/business can do to help ensure success?
Focus on stacking up ongoing monthly subscriptions, contracts, retainers, etc. as opposed to one-off projects. This will help you to smooth out cash flow and make it easier to grow your business.
Cash flow challenges kicked my butt when I first started my agency. That’s how I learned the above – the hard way. I also learned that it was essential to keep a buffer of funds in the bank to help get through those times when you’re waiting on a client to pay you. That is easier said than done, but it does make things about a million times easier when you can do it.
Why Cowork Frederick?
Coworking has been incredibly valuable to my mental health. Before joining Cowork Frederick, I worked from home staring at a screen by myself and after 2-3 days I’d be completely loopy and not know how to interact with people when I went in public.
For those who want to learn more, how can you be reached?