The vision for Derm101 had its origins in an offer made in 1999 by Bernard Ackerman to his nephew, Andy Zwick, to join him at the Ackerman Academy to oversee the business aspects of his professional life with specific attention to efforts in publishing in dermatology. Having done a thesis on the history of medical publishing, Andy saw parallels in the opportunities that the development of infrastructure in the 19^th century and the way the Internet could transform communications in medicine during the 21^st century. In 2000, when he began managing Dr. Ackerman's professional life, Andy's primary focus was planning and overseeing the transition from print media in dermatology to what today is Derm101.