Launch Day: Celebrating Logos 6, Success, and Each Other

Logos 6 has been more than 20 years in the making. Behind the curtain, October 27 was a day of celebration—of people, of technology, and of hard work.
Walking through the doors of Faithlife on Monday was unlike any other day since I’ve been here. Balloons filled corners, desks, stairwells, and more. There was even a giant balloon archway next to our receptionist and the famous Faithlife sign:
balloon archway
Every desk was adorned with Logos 6 goodies and launch day treats—including these sweet Logos 6 mugs full of candy and cupcakes that were about 40 percent frosting.

logos 6 shirt, mug, and cupcake
Photo courtesy of Ivan Leon.

Some parts of the Faithlife campus felt like walking through a campsite. In the Partnerships and Advertising team’s office, a projector was playing The Office in the background, and Nate Smoyer was cozied up in a blanket with his laptop. Down in DSGNHAVN, a hammock was stretched between two pillars—the perfect spot to take a quick nap before getting back in the action.
Some offices were empty, where just hours ago teams of people had been frantically working to make sure everything was ready for the big day.
For many, “launch day” began Sunday night and ran into the wee hours of the morning. There were web pages and servers to be tested and retested, links and messaging to be double checked and triple checked, and festivities to prepare.

kyle
Kyle, Anthony, and other developers moved into the marketing department in anticipation of launch.

Moments after I arrived, developers and marketers gathered around a single laptop, and the magic moment—the launch of Logos 6—was captured on a phone. Chris Dumond had the honor of pushing the button.


Shortly after the button was pushed and the sites were live, executive assistant Brittany Hackett caught the Bellingham sunrise peeking through her window, and a beautiful day of celebration began:

sunrise
Photo courtesy of Brittany Hackett.

Blazers and blouses were replaced with Logos 6 launch T-shirts, and company wide, we rallied to bring out the best in each other throughout the day. From the beginning, we knew the launch would put a lot of stress on our customer service and sales people, so we assigned teams to care for and support them.
One of the people supporting the sales team was Annemarie VanBeek. Annemarie doesn’t even work in the same building as sales, but she was available to help. So what’d she do? She moved in.
Annemarie said, “At first I just had my laptop in here. Then I moved my monitors over, and eventually my whole desktop and everything.” She was in the middle of the action, ready to help out at a moment’s notice. Sometimes it meant acting as a go-between and making sure our sales people had the most up-to-date information about Logos 6. Other times it meant making sure everyone had the food and caffeine they needed to keep going.
“If we aren’t answering questions, we’re feeding them,” she said. “Sometimes, you’ll just hear a door open, and someone will run out and grab a bite to eat before they get back on the phone.”
Rumor has it that one salesman, John Groce, didn’t even put the phone down long enough to sneak out and grab a bite. He took calls for more than 12 hours straight and never left his office. That’s how much he enjoyed our customers and the excitement of Logos 6.
When I spoke to Annemarie, it was a little after 1:00 p.m. By that time, she’d made three separate trips to Woods Coffee with everyone’s drink orders. All this week, Faithlife has food trucks parked between our buildings (with free food for Faithlife employees!) so our support teams brought hot food right to the hungry mouths that asked for them.

Hot Mess food truck
Hot Mess: Philly Cheesesteaks & More was one of the many food trucks that set up shop on the Faithlife campus during launch week.

Those of us that had time hopped in line and enjoyed tasty BBQ, Philly cheesesteaks, gourmet pizza, burritos, and more!
Annemarie was just one of many employees who went above and beyond to serve those who were working with our customers. She was also one of many people to relocate their work station just for the launch.
Developers and marketers worked side by side to ensure that when pages needed to be built and new issues were discovered, they could be addressed as quickly as possible.
Erik was one of the developers that relocated for the launch. He said, “Recently, I’d been heavily involved with the marketing technology team and their code, so it made sense for me to sit with them. Everyone in marketing knew where to find me when they had questions. It was helpful to just turn around and talk instead of using instant messaging.”
One member of the marketing technology team told me Erik was like a launch-day superhero, working right alongside his team. Erik said, “I don’t normally work 25 hours in a 28-hour period . . . that was a first.”
Sounds like he could have really used the hammock downstairs.
Kaleb Cuevas said, “Monday was really different because there was so much anticipation and excitement, and we worked all night to make it possible.”
The most exciting moment for Kaleb was “the moment we heard cheers erupt when the site went live, and seeing the praise from customers that followed.”

kaleb Cuevas
Kaleb Cuevas was one of many people who stepped up to the plate for the Logos 6 launch.

Our customer service and sales teams were on the phones nonstop until midnight to keep things moving. The phone lines were loaded to maximum capacity—people were chomping at the bit to begin using and learning about Logos 6.

Don Everett and Kelly Ryan customer service
Don Everett and Kelly Ryan work with a customer.

When people are this passionate about a product, it’s contagious. And when our customers are excited, we are too. Monday, October 27 represented years of work, months of preparation, and hundreds of people who helped Logos 6 come together.
Join the celebration, and see what people are so excited about. Get Logos 6 today.

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Written by
Ryan Nelson

Ryan Nelson is a writer for OverviewBible, where he uses Logos to explore the characters, groups, places, and books of the Bible. He has served in a variety of volunteer ministry positions, primarily through Young Life.

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