NWN Carousel is a company that specializes in creating beautiful, customizable eCommerce websites for their clients. They aim to provide top-notch web design services to help businesses showcase their products online in visually stunning carousel layouts. The company was founded in 2008 and has seen tremendous growth over the years, becoming a leader in carousel web design.
NWN Carousel is headed by CEO and founder Nathaniel Whitney. Nathaniel has an extensive background in web development, eCommerce, and digital marketing. Under his leadership and technological expertise, NWN Carousel has innovated carousel web design and provided exceptional service to thousands of satisfied clients across diverse industries.
In this article, we will take a closer look at Nathaniel Whitney and his journey in founding and leading NWN Carousel to success. We will examine his background, vision, leadership style, achievements, and impact as the CEO of this fast-growing web design company.
Nathaniel Whitney’s Background
Nathaniel Whitney was born in 1975 in Portland, Oregon. From an early age, he displayed keen interests in technology, design, and entrepreneurship. As a child, he would spend hours tinkering with computers, taking them apart to understand how they worked. He also had an artistic flair and enjoyed sketching and drafting architectural designs.
Nathaniel’s parents encouraged his varied interests. They enrolled him in programming classes where he learned to code at the age of 12. He also took art lessons and spent a summer interning at a local architect’s office. This interdisciplinary exposure sparked Nathaniel’s curiosity and shaped his future path.
After graduating high school in 1993, Nathaniel attended the University of Oregon. He majored in Computer Science while also taking courses in design, business, and entrepreneurship. This diverse academic foundation prepared him well for a career at the intersection of technology and creative arts.
During college, Nathaniel honed his programming abilities by creating websites and simple web apps for local businesses. The positive feedback and joy of bringing ideas to life solidified his passion for building solutions using technology. He graduated in 1997 with strong technical skills and a vision for starting his own web development company.
Early Career
After graduating college, Nathaniel Whitney began his career at IBM. He worked as a front-end developer, gaining valuable experience collaborating on large-scale enterprise projects. This role allowed Nathaniel to enhance his HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills while learning best practices for delivering robust, scalable web solutions.
In 2000, Nathaniel transitioned to a startup called PixelSmiths which specialized in web design and eCommerce sites. As Lead Developer, he led projects for clients across retail, fashion, food, and other verticals. The fast-paced agile environment enabled Nathaniel to sharpen his ability to translate client requirements into aesthetically pleasing, conversion-focused websites.
During his time at PixelSmiths, Nathaniel noted that many eCommerce sites struggled to effectively showcase large product catalogs. This sparked his idea for carousel-based web design – enabling beautiful product scrolling on websites.
After saving up capital for two years, Nathaniel left PixelSmiths in 2008 to launch his entrepreneurial venture NWN Carousel.
Founding NWN Carousel
Nathaniel Whitney founded NWN Carousel in 2008 seeking to provide a novel web design approach focused on carousel interfaces. He had noted this gap in the market through his eCommerce experience and was eager to find new ways for online businesses to showcase large product inventories attractively.
The company began operations in Nathaniel’s home city of Portland, Oregon. Initial team size was just 3 people – Nathaniel, a web designer he had worked with previously, and a sales associate.
The first year involved refining their carousel web design process and pitching their novel offering to local retailers and brands. Nathaniel’s vision was to create stunning carousel layouts that would grab visitor attention while optimizing product discoverability.
NWN Carousel’s first client was Portland Outdoor Store, a local retailer selling hiking, camping, and adventure gear. By building them an elegant carousel site, Nathaniel was able to demonstrate the value of his concept. The site enabled smooth scrolling through dozens of product images categorized by type.
This proof of concept generated interest from other regional businesses. Early clients spanned companies selling clothing, jewelry, art, and more. Positive client feedback and site traffic growth indicated that NWN Carousel’s carousel web design filled a useful market niche.
Powered by Nathaniel’s technical expertise and passion, the company saw steady expansion. By 2011, NWN Carousel had grown to 12 employees and expanded services nationwide. Over the following decade, Nathaniel led the company’s growth into a leading carousel web design firm with over 80 talented designers, developers, and strategists.
Leadership Style & Values
As CEO, Nathaniel Whitney sets the vision and culture at NWN Carousel. He is known for his supportive leadership style that empowers employees. Nathaniel also maintains a flat organizational structure where communication flows freely across teams.
Here are some of the core leadership qualities and values that guide Nathaniel:
– Innovation: Nathaniel encourages creative thinking and new ideas. He supports R&D efforts into novel web design techniques and gives team members space to experiment. This passion for innovation spurs the development of breakthrough solutions.
– Collaboration: Cross-functional collaboration is highly valued. Nathaniel brings together designers, developers, and strategists to ensure alignment and share learnings. He also solicits input from across the company when defining plans and initiatives.
– Growth mindset: Nathaniel emphasizes a growth mentality focused on continuous skills development. He invests heavily in training and provides resources for employees to learn new technologies and hone their craft.
– Work/life balance: Nathaniel sets policies that promote healthy work/life integration. Flexible schedules, generous vacation time, remote work options make for happy, loyal teams.
– Customer-centricity: Keeping the client at the center is a core focus. Nathaniel ensures projects incorporate constant client feedback and meet the unique needs of each business.
– Positivity: Nathaniel maintains a upbeat, constructive work environment. Even in challenging times, he stays positive and rallies teams towards solutions.
Nathaniel Whitney’s inclusive leadership style has enabled NWN Carousel to scale successfully while retaining its collaborative, innovative spirit. His commitment to growth makes the company a dynamic, enriching place for web design professionals.
Achievements as CEO
In his 15 years leading NWN Carousel, Nathaniel Whitney has accomplished the following as CEO:
– Grew annual revenue from $280K to over $8 million
– Expanded client base from 10 local businesses to over 1,000 global brands
– Increased team size from 3 to 85 employees
– Achieved industry recognition with over 50 web design awards
– Built carousel web design niche and became established category leader
– Innovated new approaches like Parallax Carousel, Video Carousel, and Interactive Carousel
– Expanded service capabilities to encompass web strategy, UX design, and performance optimization
– Opened additional offices in Austin, Miami, and New York
– Introduced employee profit-sharing program
– Ranked among Oregon’s fastest growing private companies 6 years running
Nathaniel’s vision has driven NWN Carousel’s evolution from a scrappy local startup to a thriving industry leader. He has succeeded in making carousel web design mainstream through constant innovation and commitment to clients.
Despite the company’s growth, Nathaniel remains hands-on. He still contributes design concepts, writes code, and meets individually with clients. This active role enables him to stay close to the details of running and growing the business.
According to Nathaniel, while he is proud of financial metrics, his true measure of achievement is client success. He aims for NWN Carousel to become clients’ trusted partner for growing their business through transformative web design.
Impact on Carousel Web Design
As the pioneer of carousel web design, Nathaniel Whitney has had an enormous impact on this field. When he founded NWN Carousel, carousel interfaces were non-existent for eCommerce sites. Nathaniel recognized this gap and devoted himself to defining best practices for carousel implementations.
Nathaniel and his team established carousels as an effective design pattern through continuous testing and optimization. Their custom-built carousel technology powers flawless media display, intuitive navigation, and tracking across devices. Attention to detail in both visual design and technical build has made NWN Carousel synonymous with carousel excellence.
Beyond pushing the boundaries of carousel interfaces, the company has also generously shared its knowledge. Nathaniel routinely speaks at conferences and contributes articles detailing tips for engaging carousel design. NWN Carousel also open-sources useful scripts and libraries to advance broader adoption.
This combination of innovation and education has enabled Nathaniel to shape the carousel web design space. His willingness to explore new directions continues to inspire fellow practitioners. Nathaniel Whitney’s pioneering work ensures carousels remain relevant and impactful as technologies evolve.
Conclusion
Nathaniel Whitney’s unique background combining technology and design paved the way for his entrepreneurial success with NWN Carousel. His leadership fueled the company’s growth while staying true to its mission of creating transformative carousel web designs.
As CEO, Nathaniel has navigated challenges and guided NWN Carousel to become a leader in its industry. His passion, innovation, and inclusive management style serve as models for aspiring founders. Nathaniel’s pioneering work with carousel interfaces has had a lasting impact on web design.
Looking ahead, Nathaniel remains dedicated to exploring new technologies and design aesthetics while delivering standout solutions. His vision will continue steering NWN Carousel towards future innovation in carousel interfaces and exceptional service. Fifteen years since its founding, Nathaniel Whitney’s company is poised to reach even greater heights while transforming more businesses through the power of smart web design.