The Next Chapter

The year 2008 was when I teamed together along with one of my most close friends at the time. Stu McLaren and I put our talents together to create Member.

We didn't know we would embark on an incredible and unprecedented adventure. WordPress is growing at an impressive growth rate. It was an exciting time. There was no clear answer, but there were many signs that WordPress will outdo Joomla and Drupal.

In order to put it in perspective, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga had been making waves in the new music scene. Many of the current members were in the first grade of school back when we first established ourselves.

In the internet marketing world, discussions about membership sites were the talk of the town. However, there were not many options to create the membership-oriented website with WordPress. Most development companies were focused on themes. Consequently, the premium plugin market was pretty much not even a thing.

We saw it as an opportunity to take action swiftly. Mike Lopez was our Jedi engineer who could design anything we put him to the test with. He created the initial version of Member single-handed in less than three months.

Like my prior software businesses, we saw a demand so we created a solid answer to the typical challenge. Naturally, Members was able to see some rapid growth. In the beginning, our it was all about word of mouth. We grew for well over a year before we spent nothing on marketing.

They are the possibilities that entrepreneurs dream of.

In the early days of our existence when we first started, we got our first request for information about selling the business. It was flattering but they wanted existing brands that had a strong owner who is ready to go home. We were youthful and full of life, so it made absolutely NO sense.

The first question proved to be a valid validation. Member was always "Built to sell" and there were many who were interested.

Shortly after the first inquiry I had a conversation with my friend, who I believed to be a trustworthy adviser. His entrepreneurial experience includes owning several different businesses. One of those is a Venture Capital Firm. He had also sold several businesses previously. Needless to say, this guy knows his stuff.

A friend of mine shared an important tip. He explained, "the secret to selling an organization is to identify the buyer and to make your company a perfect fit."

The suggestion made lots of sense, but I had a few small problems. First, when you have partners, you're not creating a company that one person would like to build. It's a joint venture that the partners have agreed to construct together. The second reason is that we cannot identify the buyer.

Somewhere along the way, Stu and I decided to make Mike an associate. I believe it was in the year 2010.

The landscape changed dramatically in the latter half of 2014. Stu decided he wanted to follow his love of instructing and focusing on helping people build successful membership sites. Mike and I continued to work at the software firm.

Then, I was the majority shareholder with Member. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same.

Our leadership team and I took a trip to Colorado to concentrate on the planning.

It became clear that we needed to do some recalibration. The focus needed to shift on what we had accomplished over the years and become clear on what we could do in the coming years. Personally, I wanted to stop thinking about building an organization that I believed people would be interested in buying and start thinking about what sort of company I'd like to run.

The last few years have taught me a lot of things. One simple lesson is that Isolation Kills Entrepreneurs. Being in business can be very lonely at times. There is no better way to build relationships and friendships that can aid in bringing balance and order to the forces.

It is impossible to predict when a relationship will turn into a true friendship...

I had the pleasure of meeting Micah Mitchell at a conference. He was a partner with a person who was selling a software product similar to Member. Some would have considered the company to be an actual competitor. I wasn't thinking much about the matter and felt that he was a great guy and I'd like to get acquainted with him.

In the next few years, and Micah was leaving his former collaboration and founded a business called Memberium. Again, people would have believed that he was even more of a competitor now. The only thing I could say was that I liked him.

This was reinforced when I bumped into him during the airport security line. The two of us had a good time discussing the things each of us had been doing with our businesses We then discovered we had been assigned seats close to one another during the flight. Was this a joke? It's likely that someone lined this up. It was totally random.

On that same trip, we started planning the most infamous April Fool's Day joke in which we announced that Micah just acquired Member. It was funny to think that it could be referred to as Memberium. It is possible to add 360 to the name just in order to add a little fun. The few who are reading this article will be able to comprehend.

What started as a randomly allocated seat beside my software rival (thanks Delta!) was transformed into a long-lasting friendship. He and I would meet monthly to talk business over lunch for the next few years. Sadly, our meetings were over when my family and I moved back to Tennessee. There were many great relationships during our time in Utah and it was really difficult to leave them behind.

I love developing software. It's thrilling to see an idea come to life is thrilling. It's especially exciting when you have an awesome team and the product becomes much more than you imagined it would be. One great example would be our most recent update for the courses add-ons available for member.

While it's exciting as that sounds, the truth is it can also be difficult. Just when you get to the 1-yard mark and you're close to scoring, you can also be running through the air exhausted from all of your hard work.

Just as we were wrapping on the design and planning to release the new product I found myself feeling very tired. I was starting to recognize the best option was to find a real market partner. Someone who understood the market , and would help me to take Member up to the next step. I've made a few calls to my closest business friends. My wife reminded me that Micah ought to be on the list of candidates. I made her a promise that I would reach out to him on the next day.

Just before I contacted Micah I contacted Micah, he sent me an email. It was like sitting next to Micah during the flight. There are times when you know that things happen for a reason.

The discussions grew into the idea of me selling Member to Micah's business MemberShipper which is also the organization that supports Memberium. The result was that what we'd been working on with Member was exactly what MemberShipper wanted include in their portfolio.

In the past I've received a lot of inquiries about selling the business. None of them ever felt right until now. It was very important for me to have Member continue as a growing brand. Additionally, I wanted to make sure our amazing team was looked after.

Each step the process became more evident that this was the best future for Members The team as well as for the many thousands of amazing customers who have stayed with us over the years.

I'm incredibly thankful to the leadership teams from both sides. They've been hard at work to make this transition as effortless as it can be for me. It's impressive to watch everyone working cohesively.

A common query I'm receiving currently is "What's next to you?".

Though I believe I'd be REALLY good at retiring, what I really need is a break. I'm planning to take the time to enjoy some well-deserved personal time.

What does all this mean if you're a Member customer?

To put it in a nutshell, you can expect the team to continue innovating and Members is constantly being developed and enhanced. This isn't going away.

I am committed to working together with Micah and the rest the team for a full year. I'm into a position that is easily my dream job. I'm now the "Director of Strategic Partnerships" for both brand names owned by MemberShipper.

I will be attending several events in the near future. My own personal goal is to offer the most value possible in the coming year. It is my dream to see Member go further with Micah's leadership.

It's possible that I will stay around for more time than you ever imagined.

I've never felt more confident in regards to the future of member like I do today. The company is just beginning to get started.

You can read Micah's full statement about the purchase on the acquisition here.

You might also like...