Box: Modern Startup's New Digs Honor Tech's Past

Netscape and VC get shoutouts at new digs

In a business, and a town, famous for looking to the future, it's refreshing to see a startup -- and a thoroughly modern one at that -- respecting its past.

Box, which we first covered as a tiny startup with a billboard challenging Microsoft, has, in the ensuing years, become a force in the software and cloud markets, hiring hundreds of employees and gathering national interest.

The company moved into a new headquarters Monday, the third building we've seen since that first story.  It is, like everything about Box, totally modern, but what struck me while checking out some of the early photos tweeted out by CEO Aaron Levie was how the company is paying homage to its past.

I love to see how companies name conference rooms.  Movies, famous places, that sort of thing.  Levie tweeted out a photo of one room, named "Netscape," pointing out that the dot com browser pioneer "made the cloud possible."  Nice.

Even more thoughtful, at least in a capitalist sense, is the room titled "Mamoon."  This, after Mamoon Hamid, a venture capitalist, and early investor in Box.  No matter how much money Box makes, or how many people eventually invest in it, the company will always have that room to honor one of the people willing to take an early risk.  That's cool.

Yes, the new new thing is paramount here in Silicon Valley.  And, with its software, Box is helping to bring us there.  But once in a while, it's nice to see a company respecting its -- and our -- past.

Scott, who wishes he thought of that billboard, is on Twitter:  @scottbudman

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