The Sky's the Limit

FLORIDA WEEKLY PHOTO EVAN WILLIAMS Today's Internet is still roughly where the automobile was during the era of Henry Ford's Model T," wrote Microsoft Corporation Chairman Bill Gates in 2000. "We've seen a lot of amazing things so far, but there is much more to come. We are only at the dawn of the Internet Age."

And much more has come, said Zach Katkin, Director of Operations for Unique Web Design, an Estero based company which provides businesses in Southwest Florida and beyond with internet marketing and consulting, Web site development and hosting.

Katkin, a 2007 Florida Gulf Coast University Graduate, is aiming to help businesses realize the net's potential, and best utilize the vast array of options it offers.

"How do we educate the client that the sky's the limit?" he asked. "This can be the biggest way they get leads and make sales."

Katkin started the business with a fellow student, now Director of Business Development Harry Casimir, while still in college, working at home and in the FGCU library, where it took on a life of its own. They slowly built a reputation and decided to quit their day jobs and work for Unique ID Web Design full time in Sep. 2005. Casimir said Katkin agreed to lend him cash if business got too slow, but it never happened.

"It's been very profitable so far," Katkin said.

Later Jermaine Primus, a 2005 FGCU graduate, joined the team as a client representative and Director of Sales Scott Clark, who moved to Fort Myers from Detroit in 2007, came aboard. There are eight members of the company, all in their early to mid 20s.

"There's still a lot of fear about the internet," Clark said. "Everyone has a brother that got screwed on E-bay...We want people to know that it's very safe and secure to transact business online, that our clients are safe."

Together, their four personalities interlock like in a movie: one quietly intense, one semi-brash yet charming, one intellectual and serious, one just happy to be along. But for each of them, that veneer is only the beginning, a role to play in the fledgling company they discussed with Florida Weekly last Friday.

About 50 percent of Unique ID's clients are scattered across the United States, in New York, California and Pennsylvania, the other half are in Southwest Florida.

Those customers are mostly small- to medium-sized businesses which hired them to create everything from a small "brochure" Web site, to more advanced sites with all the links, graphics, and bells and whistles. Although they say the possibilities are endless.

"If the client has an idea, or wants to do it online, it can be done," Primus said.

For example, one custom program Unique ID created from scratch for FGCU matches graduating teachers with mentor teachers, based on education and field.

"Eighty to 90 percent of the time, clients don't fully understand what they want," Casimir said. "They say, 'Wow this is possible? We can do this?'"

"We want to make sure we convey to the client that these are not just ideas, but actual possibilities," Clark added.

Katkin concurred with a thoughtful nod.

"There is a unique format for each company," Clark said. "The gamut of the kinds of rolls we play never ends because the internet is always changing."

But their business environment stays the same, Katkin said; the lines of communication between everyone at Unique ID are always open.

"All to often in the corporate settings, you see egos pounding their heads together," Clark said. "We help everyone succeed together, so it's very unifying."

They also agree that clients come before profit.

"Each client is assigned a representative," Primus said. "That representative helps them through every single step. We build the relationship first. After that, we help them get to the next level, be it a Web site or marketing."

"We have 100 percent retention of our clients so far," Casimir added. "And I don't see any clients dropping us soon. 75 percent of our clients are word of mouth."

"It's a pretty simple concept," Clark explained. "If you're friendly and do what you say, people will come back."

The process of creating a website for a client can be a lengthy one, Katkin said. First, it involves finding the needs of that specific business, then planning the project, making a prototype of the software or site, and finally a series of tests to insure quality. Even polls of friends and family.

"It's a very simple process," Katkin joked. "...It's a process of gathering information, consulting, and asking where are you now? And where do you want to be two years from now?"

As for Unique ID, they're keeping things local, they say - for now.

"Everybody wants to be a Fortune 500 at some point," Clark said. "We always say we want to tackle the mountain that is Southwest Florida before we tackle the world. We're very grateful for the customers we have."

Clark said the energy among the team is high, and the late nights at the office are many. But it's paying off, for Unique ID and its customers.

"Last year alone, we tallied $30 million in revenue for our clients," he said.

Because of this growth, and for personal reasons, the company will change its name to Atilus on Feb. 1. The name tested well with clients, they said; it's also Casimir's grandfather's name.

"The name will change, but what will remain the same is our desire, dedication and commitment in achieving the goals of our client," Clark said. "I think our company's kind of outgrown the name, too. It's like having a nickname when you're growing up, and then you outgrow it."

For more information on Unique ID's host of services, call Clark direct at 567- 9743, or at the office at 362-1271. Or visit www.webdesignid.com.