The History of DOOR3

Since 2002, DOOR3 has been partnering with companies from every sector to improve their business performance through the implementation of new technologies and solution development. With such an extensive history and a wide range of work, it’s not uncommon for us to receive questions about the history of the business, and one question stands out above the rest.

Why the name DOOR3?

To understand the development of our current business name, we must go back over two decades to revisit the founding of this company, the growth it would soon experience, and when our current company name came into the picture.

Humble beginnings

When DOOR3 first hit the market, it wasn’t as DOOR3, nor was it composed of the 100+ company members you see today. In fact, DOOR3 entered the technology space as A&N design studios, founded by one man working for a startup called Ingenitech as their consulting CIO.

Alex Asianov saw an oversight in Ingenitech’s current business strategy at the time. The company was gearing up to earn credibility in the digital space to bring in more business, but the company lacked a website. While websites were a fairly common missing business component in the early 2000s, Alex saw that without a well designed site the startup was going to struggle to gain traction in the sector.

So, Alex began working on designing a website with what would become DOOR3’s first client. A website that, when reviewed today, still holds up thanks to its dedication to fundamental design principles.

The work with Ingenitech lit a fire in Alex, he saw that after the tech collapse of 2000, there was a real lack of businesses that valued UX at the same level of their technical capabilities, he was curious as to what would happen if technology and UX were valued at the same level when delivering robust software.

With this question in mind, Alex began developing partnerships with businesses in need of some fresh perspective. These first couple projects embodied the notion of straddling the line of technical strategy with software development, and how UX plays a major role in the process. These first few projects opened Alex’s eyes to the potential of this work model, and became a direct reflection of the dichotomy in our portfolio to this day.

Challenges of the early 2000s

Fast forward a few years later, A&N Design studio had two problems it needed to face.

First of which was the lack of space this growing company had available. As a one man team had turned into eight, it was time for an official office space for the company. So in 2006, A&N Design Studios leased a small, windowless room on Broad street in New York City. The space was full of computers, local servers, and soon our current CEO, as Jonathan Blessing and Alex Asianov were to meet in that windowless room in response to a Craigslist job posting that Alex had shared.

With one problem addressed there was one more issue that was causing a bit more disturbance in the business. While the focus of the company was and still is to push UX considerations to the forefront of the development process, too many people still associated design studios as only capable of design and nothing else. Instead of fighting this association, it made more sense to simply rebrand the company away from the design focus.

But what would this new name be? And why is the number three so integral to this company’s identity?

The name DOOR3 represents the company’s three core principles of development - business thinking, technology thinking, and design thinking - while also playfully referencing “what’s behind door number three”, the idea of stepping into the unknown during times of change and advancement. How when stepping into the unknown, it’s always better to do so with a trusted partner by your side.

DOOR3 can face the uncertainty of the unopened door alongside our clients, and has been doing so successfully for 21 years. We officially changed our name in 2009, and haven’t looked back since.

All the way to today

Since 2001, DOOR3 has been expanding to new markets with a continually growing team of experts from all over the world. Yet, the tenets of our business have remained the same and have withstood the test of time. We are thrilled with the growth we’ve experienced over the years, and look forward to continuing to better serve our clients with new technologies, perspectives, and the same dedication to our three disciplines as when we first became DOOR3.

Question about our history? Contact us here.