Why b26n?

A num-er-uh-what?

When I set out to name the company, I didn't want to just use my name, as my name (Brian Gibson) is incredibly common, and I didn't want to just name my company after myself as so many do. 😂
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Having spent years around tech, I liked numeronyms, which are abbreviations that include numbers (and also usually letters).

I particularly liked ones that shortened long words down to their first and last letters with the number of letters in between, like globalization as g11n (G-eleven-N), internationalization as i18n (I-eighteen-N), and accessibility as a11y (A-eleven-Y).

I considered using my name for a numeronym—b9n—but the domain was taken.

I went through rounds and rounds of names, but nothing sounded right, but I kept coming back to numeronyms—they're short, simple, unique.

Then one day it hit me.

This business isn't about me. It's bigger than me. In fact, it's not about me at all—it's about people, and bringing people together so they can be at their best and do great things.

And the most important people around me are my family. My wife, Nancy. My daughter, Lilly, and My son, Charlie.

So I took all of our names and made a numeronym: Brian, Nancy, Lilly, (and) Charlie Gibson.

b26n.

Aside from the symbolic meaning of it bringing us all together in the name, I want this business to be a way for our family to connect and grow together.

Part of my motivation for starting this business was to give my kids exposure to different forms of entrepreneurship and first-hand experience with career paths they probably won't learn about at a school Career Day.

I've always believed in the power of combining formal education and learning through life. I plan for this business to afford them concrete opportunities to grow at that intersection.

I hope over time that they will participate in the business in a way that's fun, engaging, and tangible for them and meaningful for customers.

Most of all, I hope it's an opportunity for all of us to do really impactful work, to make the working world a slightly better place, and to have some fun along the way.  

🤜🏽 ⚡️ 🤛🏽