In early 2002, Warren and Plank co-founder, Christiane Magee, were in the DVD section sparring over a copy of Michael Moore’s TV series The Awful Truth. Christiane may have won that bout, but Warren emerged with an idea; he decided to check out Moore’s website — it wasn’t in great shape. Moore was not the most popular person in the post-9/11 world, but Warren had always been a fan, so he fired off a note to the site’s main email address with some thoughts on how Plank could help him get the message out.

Michael Moore called that afternoon.

Not only were we thrilled to work with Moore, but our small team suddenly had an unparalleled opportunity — the experience taught us to juggle multiple high profile sites, to manage an astronomical amount of traffic, and to navigate an international campaign, to name a few.

Over the next eight years, when a new film or book came out or when an election campaign heated up, Michael Moore turned to Plank. More than a random email or a case of good timing, what mattered in the end was the relationship we’d fostered with the man who changed documentary film.

People often ask us about the story behind our name.

Over the years, we’ve run into some other “Planks” in the wild. In yoga, “Plank” is a pose that works your core abs, while in the UK it means you ain’t all that smart. It’s the name of a character in the Cartoon Network show Ed, Edd and Eddy, and The Plank was a slapstick 1979 British TV series and 1967 film. In the summer of 2011, it took on a new wonder with the Aussie-founded meme known as “Planking.”

For us, the name evokes a combination of something both organic and manufactured. A plank of wood comes to us by way of a living organism, it’s a basic building block and a framework for architectural masterpieces — these qualities inform our designs and user experiences: make it natural; make it human; make it beautiful.

Also, we just liked the sound of it.

One day, Senior Account Executive Sarah Bagnall realized something while dodging a renegade rubber band launched by Plank’s founder; she looked at him and asked, “You’re trying to run a summer camp, aren’t you?” Without hesitation, Warren replied plainly and simply, “Oh, most definitely.”

“It took me a few years to realize it, but it became clear to me that the way I'm running this company is completely based on the management style I learned at camp.” By the time he was 21, Warren had spent 12 summers at camp and had become responsible for about 300 children and 75 staff. His immediate supervisor once commented, “It's very rare that someone your age gets this kind of management and leadership training.”

“Management? Leadership? Training? I thought I was just going to summer camp!” But the more Warren thought about it, the more he realized he was learning fundamental values that he would carry over to Plank’s culture. Stuff like building an environment that encourages collaboration and creativity, how to be fair, egalitarian, and lead by example, how to create a place that is open, supportive, and feels like a family, and, most of all, how to make a job fun.

“Oh, and if you’re in the office, you should also expect a lot of singing, joking, and silliness. I learned that at camp, too.”