iD News and Blog

Happy Thanksgiving! A Note from iD’s CEO & CFO

Happy Thanksgiving!

On Monday, Alexa (iD Co-Founder and CFO) and I sent out a newsletter via email to our current summer camp clients and those that have expressed interest in our summer computer camps and video game camps.

In the newsletter, we highlighted our HoliDay Special along with the big announcement of using some of the hottest commercial games on the market, in several of our gaming programs.

We’ve been moving fast and furious since our summer tech camps ended in August. The business cycle and early preparation of the entire summer camp industry continues to move up–earlier and earlier each season. In the not-too-distant future, participants may be registering for camp an entire season (or two) before the actual camp start dates. With increased competition, the camp industry, like any other industry, will be compelled to innovate, and service levels will continue to increase–along with the expectations of clients (campers and parents). This is good for everyone. We are excited to meet the challenges of the next generation of summer camps.

It is hard to believe that we are now celebrating Thanksgiving, and rounding the corner to the new year. We want to wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. We thank you for your loyalty and patronage.

Did you know that 2008 will be our 10th season in operation? When we established iD Tech Camps, Alexa and I were both twenty-somethings. We had a vision—to provide the best summer technology camps…but we didn’t know where it would take us. Today, we have seen the result of our technology programs come full circle. We now have an established legacy and growing pool of iD Alumni who have gone on to do great things, measured by both small and large accomplishments.

Where are they now?

Some iD students-turned-entrepreneurs have designed, created and sold video games to their classmates. Others have created websites for their mom or dad’s small businesses. Many have gone on to college. Other still have become iD instructors or come to work full time for our growing company. Several have graduated from college and gone on to launch careers at Google or other renowned technology firms. Recently, an iD student received a large book deal based on his programming skills. Another iD alumna had her documentary work featured on HBO.

While these stories are becoming commonplace at iD, they never grow old. We hope to instill the internalDrive in each of our students. Our company was founded on this principle. If we can give each student a boost in tech-confidence and self-esteem, then we have done our job. We can’t wait to see what the next year brings. Are we thankful? You bet we are!

On behalf of all of us in the iD Family, we wish you and your family a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,

 

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iD Launches New Summer Camp Season!

Wow, It’s November 1!  Our registration is now live and parents are saving some big bucks!  The phones were ringing off the hook today.  Exciting!  The most popular question we are asked when we are out and about doing camp fairs is “what do you do in the off season?”  We are asked the question because we fall into the category of “summer camps,” so the question is understandable.  The work behind the scenes is difficult to explain.  But, the workload is immense.  And, it will continue to be if we want to solidify our spot as the #1 tech camp in the USA.

What DO we do in the off season?  Well, to prepare for this launch, we have researched hundreds of tech products, solidified contracts with over 50 existing universities, and a handful of new locations too.  We’ve completely re-written content and redesigned pages on internalDrive.com–that’s hundreds and hundreds of pages of web content.  We’re gearing up for summer camp staff hiring–which begins next month.  We’re launching a dozen new courses and announcing a lot of cool new offerings including Camp Fatality (a course co-designed by the world’s best known pro gamer), launching the iD Film Academy in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Ultimate Gaming Weekends–a specialty teen program.  We’ve also added a new course for our Study Abroad Program in Spain.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.  We’ve also launched a new and easy Refer-a-Friend program, and will be unveiling a new carpool application for our parents.  Our pricing structure has become more “client friendly” and includes better savings for multi-week students and families sending siblings.

We write all of our applications in-house, which means we can “create what we dream.”  This is a big strategic advantage for us.  It may be more costly and time consuming, but we get to do it our way and not rely on cookie-cutter applications to force the shoe to fit.  Computer camps are our art form.  They are our expression of creativity.  We love what we do–and this is why we work so hard all year round.  We want to be the best, and we want to stay on top.  We look forward to serving our new and returning clients.

Well, I am signing off for now.  I wanted to salute my team for this latest launch.  We met our goal of November 1.  An immeasurable amount of work has gone into planning for this launch–all with the goal of evolving the greatest, most fun, tech-filled computer camp on the planet.

Take a moment to check out our site.  And, if you are in the mood to check out a few new fun webmercials, click here. These were produced in-house by some of our creative folks.

Have a great day.  Happy November!  Don’t forget to set your clock back this weekend.

-Pete

 

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