THE ROAD TO 200 MILLION: Photos Of LinkedIn's Epic Journey

LinkedInLinkedIn employees celebrate 200 million members at LinkedIn HQLinkedIn's milestone of 200 million members seems inevitable now. The professional-networking site is woven into our daily work lives, an indispensable source of connections, news, and insights.

But those millions were hard-won. It was an overnight success a decade in the making, and LinkedIn faced doubters and challenges—some self-inflicted—every step of the way.

It took LinkedIn almost a year and a half to get 500,000 members. In April 2004, the startup's tiny crew assembled in a room in Palo Alto, Calif., to celebrate the occasion with a photo.

Since then, LinkedIn employees have gathered to commemorate every milestone. At first, it was every million. Then the numbers started flying by—every 5 million new members, every 10 million.

By now, the ceremony has become a global affair, with photographs taken from Singapore to Stockholm, as well as the giant gathering at LinkedIn's fast-expanding headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

LinkedIn shared an exclusive collection of historical photos from its archives with Business Insider. We also spoke to several longtime LinkedIn employees with long tenures at the company, including cofounder Allen Blue, about how traditions like these group photos shaped the company's culture.