Since we’re on the topic of our name, let me add a layer of depth to the story.
It was 1997, and I was working for an Internet software company. There, the phrase "on the fly" was probably thrown around 100 times a day in a company of 25 people. Web pages were generated "on the fly," reports were calculated "on the fly." I liked the phrase; who would want to be static if they could by dynamic instead?
At the same time, I was a sales engineer handling accounts across the country, so I would spend a week in New York or Boston, a week in Atlanta or DC, a week in Chicago, a week in southern California, and a week home in San Francisco before doing it all again. So I felt like my life was "on the fly."
When it came time to fill out a business registration form back in 1999 for a company I might someday start, I thought On The Fly would be a good placeholder name for a one-stop shop for the guy that likes nice clothes, cigars, wine, and golf but doesn’t have time to visit all the stores required to satiate their addiction.
There is one more chapter to be written about the name, but it’ll have to wait until we’ve introduced our first line of products…
June 28, 2011
General