Earlier this month, I attended a DoubleClick reunion as part of Internet Week New York. It was like a 10-year high school reunion of what we call the First Five Years Club. It got me thinking about the years I spent at DoubleClick, the exciting period it was for the company and the incredibly smart people I met along the way.

Together, we experienced the pains of growth and the unknown – something that was unproven – which was not as accepted as it is today. We went through many changes together – going from start-up phase to major growth, to cutbacks, to privatization. We saw the company grow tremendously from 300 to more than 1,500 employees. We experienced the tragedy of 9/11 unfold together from our office windows.

We became a very close-knit group and, when we got together after all these years, it seemed like we never left each other. It was an exciting and important time in our lives, and those of us who moved on took what we learned and grew as leaders of media buying, publishing and data industries. Many went on to leadership positions at companies like Gilt Groupe, Gannett, Mediabank, Yahoo, Google and many promising and innovative start-ups. But when we left, we left with a feeling of appreciation for where we started and how far we’ve come.

As I take this trip down memory lane, I draw many parallels between DoubleClick at the turn of the century and the exciting growth that Buddy Media is experiencing today. And the feeling of excitement that I had 10 years ago is amplified, and I appreciate it even more so. The big difference for me, is that I’ve learned from my mistakes and applied my learnings. So this journey into the unknown that is the ever-changing world of social media is somewhat of an adventure for me. I’m very fortunate to have gone through such an exciting growth phase multiple times, and as my current colleagues mature and move on with their lives, they will gain even more appreciation for this moment.