From left, Casey Brockett, Mark Mercer, Stephen Walski, Jason Hammack, Ryan Albee, Melinda Hennington, Dylan Tucker and Eddie Naoum pose for a group shot at Datapath’s new Fresno office int he Tower District. Photo by Donald A. Promnitz

What started as two childhood friends starting a small tech business together has turned into a company with dozens of employees and offices in two cities.

Back in 2005, CEO David Darmstandler founded Datapath in Modesto with James Bates, his friend since the third grade. Their company has now grown to about 50 employees, expanding their services from systems management to security.

“Those two businesses complement each other,” Darmstandler said. “So while we’re doing management services traditionally, we saw the need because security was becoming a big issue.”

This desire for expanded reach helped motivate Datapath to acquire Fresno firm Valley Network Solutions in 2018. And in those two years, Datapath has continued to grow. In Modesto, this has meant the ongoing construction of a 14,000-square-foot headquarters, while at the same time, they’ve also made a move in Fresno.

In late February, Datapath moved from the old Valley Network Solutions headquarters behind River Park to 1035 E. Olive Ave. the Tower District. According to Darmstandler, it provides the company with a vibrant space to work in. It’s a sentiment shared by Melinda Hennington, Datapath’s support delivery supervisor in Fresno.

“We like it — we like the Tower District — it’s a cool place to be,” Hennington said. “The guys, compared to where we were at before, you know, you’d see everyone get in their cars and go to lunch. Now, they just kind of head out right down the street. It’s just a little bit of a tighter-knit community.”

According to Darmstandler and Hennington, the Datapath team and the ten employees they have in Fresno hope to become a part of that community. This includes the CEO’s move there.

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Related story: Fresno’s Valley Network Solutions acquired by Modesto firm