Insight

16 milestones for 16 years of digital product success

16 milestones for 16 years of digital product success

Courtney Smith

Photo of Courtney Smith

Courtney Smith

digital marketing assistant

5 minutes

time to read

June 27, 2025

published

Sixteen years in tech is no small feat. In an industry that moves at warp speed and reinvents itself every few years, longevity takes more than luck. It takes guts, good instincts, great people, and a few strategic gambles along the way.

So to mark our 16th birthday, we’re reflecting on some of the moments that helped shape who we are. Not just the highlight reel, but the turning points, the challenges, and the lessons that made us better partners, better problem-solvers, and a better team.

Here are 16 milestones that define The Distance, so far.

 

1. The leap from freelance to founder

After years spent working in other agencies (and a pretty hefty freelance backlog), our founder, Anthony, decided to go all in. He left his job, started saying “we” instead of “I,” and set out to build something bigger by surrounding himself with people even better than he was. That instinct still drives us today.

anthony, founder
 

2. Our very first app

Our first project was building a white-label app framework for a small agency with excellent contacts. The first live product? An app for OK! Magazine, helping users find local venues that had hosted celebrities. Not bad for a first outing and a solid reminder that entertainment and tech go hand-in-hand.

 
early hires

3. Early growth, early hires

From the very beginning, we surrounded ourselves with specialists. Our original crew, mostly iOS and Android devs, quickly became full-time as demand grew. That mix of early talent set the tone for the diverse, experienced team we have today.

 

4. Going all in on mobile

Committing to mobile-first development back when smartphones were still finding their feet was a risk, but it paid off. We became one of the first specialist agencies in the UK, and that early focus is what built the foundation we still stand on today.

 

5. From scribbles to strategy

Before we formalised discovery, our process was scrappy but effective - half-day workshops with hand-drawn wireframes and lots of intuition. Things levelled up once we hired our first BA (shoutout to Connor) and built a more structured, end-to-end process. That set the tone for our product-first approach.

 

6. The sawmill studio

One of our most memorable chapters was the studio we built in a renovated sawmill, complete with snooker tables, a floating meeting room, and a treehouse. Yes, really. That creative, curious energy hasn’t left us, even if we’ve since outgrown the space.

Image
 

7. A partnership that pulled us through

Our long-term relationship with Slimming World lasted nearly half a decade. It was a real partnership, built on mutual trust, skill, and collaboration. In truth, it helped us through some tough chapters, even if we didn’t say it at the time.

 

8. Our first household name

OK! Magazine was our first big brand, but our first major independent win came with the NHS. We secured a string of early app projects that set us up as a serious player in the public sector and gave us the confidence to keep scaling.

 

9. Constantly evolving product strategy

We’ve never stood still. The way we deliver digital products has continually evolved over the years, through recessions, tech booms, political upheaval, and pandemics. Most recently, we’re moving fast into AI to help our partners do the same. The next wave of product innovation is already here.

 
tech stack

10. The core - A tech stack worth shouting about

Our transition to TypeScript and React Native was a huge moment. It brought all three of our dev streams under one stack, let us deliver faster and more effectively across platforms, and reduced the need for so many siloed roles. A real win for efficiency and productivity.

 

11. A smarter process: The Journey

Post-pandemic, we overhauled the way we deliver. With our Head of Ops, Gemma, we reshaped our internal process, now known as The Journey. It led to a 25% increase in turnover, even with a 25% smaller team. Streamlined, scalable, and designed to deliver exceptional results every time.

 

12. Most complex build to date

LeShuttle was a beast. Behind the slick front end sits a tangle of 7–10 different first- and third-party systems, all stitched together to feel effortless. Choosing GraphQL as the middleware was the magic move; it turned chaos into a single, unified API for the app to draw from.

 

13. Award-winning efforts

We’ve been fortunate to see our work recognised over the years, multiple Clutch Awards among them, but more meaningful are the moments we get to celebrate success with our clients and team.

award winning
 

14. Building a culture worth staying for

From day one, we’ve aimed to create a workplace people genuinely want to be part of. We’ve never hired by quota, but we’ve always valued difference. For years, our team has remained 40%+ women, including our MD, Head of Ops, designers, and developers, and we’ve supported overseas team members through sponsorships. Inclusion isn’t a strategy here; it’s a strength.

 

15. Most meaningful impact

We’ve worked on brilliant products for big brands and brilliant causes, but our work with GoodShape really stands out. The app supports employees through periods of absence, helping them return to work in better shape, physically, mentally, and emotionally. That’s real-world value we’re proud to enable.

 

16. What’s next?

We’re not out to take over the world (pinky!), but we are committed to staying at the forefront of the digital product space in the UK. Our next chapter is already taking shape: helping our partners explore, understand, and integrate AI into their businesses in ways that are practical, ethical, and future-ready.

 

Final thoughts

Thanks to every partner who’s trusted us, every team member who’s contributed, and every challenge that’s made us stronger. 16 years down, many more to go.

Let’s see where the next chapter takes us.

 
contact us

Apply theses insights

Contact us to discuss how we can apply theses insights to your project