I founded Freedom almost exactly 11 years ago this month. At the time, “founded” seemed a bit of an overstatement. I had filed some paperwork to create an LLC, but I was still sitting by myself in my living room.
But from that very humble beginning to today, Freedom’s vision has remained the same: Technology to streamline creative production frees creative professionals to focus on what really matters.
Digital Asset Management has always been our core technology, but DAM is a hub that creates the most value when it connects content to ecommerce, digital experiences, project management, product management, distribution portals, photography studios, and dozens of other systems creating or consuming content. That fundamental interconnectedness is why Freedom’s most significant and positive move was welcoming Aaron Baecker to the partnership, who has grown an incredible technology team that empowers every client ecosystem to recognize the most value out of their DAM investment.
I started this post with a retrospective about Freedom’s north star because today marks a transition in many ways, but I believe that north star is one thing that will not change.
Today, Northern is acquiring Freedom. Northern is a leader in digital consulting, experience, and engineering. This is a broader focus than Freedom’s narrow mission on content supply chain, but it is a fundamentally compatible one. A journey that starts with content creation is not finished until it connects to customer experience. Joining forces with Northern will allow our clients to achieve a more holistic and effective end-to-end digital transformation.
So on this day of transition, Aaron and I are experiencing profound gratitude and excitement. Gratitude for all the amazing people who worked so hard to build Freedom from a vision to a successful company. For the amazing clients who believed in us and trusted us with their success. For the amazing partners who helped us build something from nothing. For the measure of luck and good fortune that we needed and received along the way. But we are also feeling excitement about the future. Because this transition marks an exciting new beginning with tremendous possibilities. Joining Northern allows us to realize a bigger and better version of our original founding vision. And we cannot wait to see what comes next.