Alex Vasquez and Chris Tolar met slinging cards at a shop in the City of Orange — Alex narrating every turn to rattle Chris, Chris winning anyway. Somewhere between matches they got to talking business, and decided to start a web shop. They called it DigiSavvy.
For years it was a side hustle. Alex kept a day job — systems admin, then web developer at a local college — and worked DigiSavvy nights and weekends. They landed early wins, including Harvey Mudd College, but couldn’t yet make it the main thing.
Then one night, inspired by none other than Ron Swanson, Alex put in his notice. February 28th, 2014 — what a friend dubbed “I Do What I Want Day” — became his last day at the job and DigiSavvy’s first as a full-time business. He still marks it with dinner every year.
Fifteen-plus years on, the ups and downs taught the lessons that run the place now. We build robust platforms and then quietly operate them — proactively, at a flat monthly rate — so founders can stop being the accidental IT manager. We’re still small on purpose, still in-house, and we still have a little fun doing it.