The Next Chapter

In 2008, when I was in high school I was in 2008, and joined forces with one of my best buddies at the time. Stu McLaren and me put our skills together and created Member.

We never imagined we'd embark on a thrilling and exciting adventure. WordPress has been growing at an impressive rate. It was an exciting time. There was no clear answer, but there were plenty of indicators that suggested WordPress is going to beat Joomla and Drupal.

In order to put it in perspective, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga have been making waves since they first made their debuts on the scene of music. Some of the current participants were in the very first year of high school in the year we founded ourselves.

The world of internet-based marketing discussion about membership websites was the talk of town. However, there were not any options for creating an online website for membership that used WordPress. Many development companies focussed on themes. Thus, the premium plug-in market was virtually not even existent.

We saw it as an opportunity and acted quickly. Mike Lopez was our Jedi engineer. He could create anything we challenged him with. He designed the first version of Member on his own in only 3 months.

Like my previous ventures dealing with software, we spotted the need for a solution, and we created a well-crafted solution to the problem that is common. There's no doubt that Members was able to see some Rapid Growth. The first year, the focus was on words of mouth. Our business grew over one year, before spending no money on advertising.

They are opportunities that entrepreneurs are aspiring to.

In the early days of our journey, when we first started, we got our first request for information regarding selling our company. It was a very pleasant response However, they requested established brands where the owner was deciding to retire. We were fresh and full of enthusiasm, so it made absolutely no sense.

The initial question was the proof. The member was always "Built to sell" as were people interested.

Following my initial query, I had a discussion with a friend who I believed to be a trustworthy adviser. His entrepreneurial experience includes owning several different businesses. One of these is that is an investment firm called Venture Capital. He had also sold several companies before. This man is a pro.

My friend shared a valuable point of wisdom. He explained, "the secret to selling your business is finding out who's buying, and to make your company an ideal fit."

This suggestion made understanding to me however I had a few minor issues. One is that, when you're an associate, you're not making a business just for each person would like. This is a joint venture the partners agree to build jointly. Second, we could never identify the potential buyer.

There was a time when Stu and I founded Mike as the minor partner. It was probably in 2010.

The landscape changed dramatically in the second half of 2014. Stu determined to follow his love of teaching and concentrate his efforts on teaching others in the creation of effective membership websites. Mike along with me both continued to work for the software company.

Then, I was an important shareholder, along with the member. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

Our leadership team and I traveled to Colorado to focus on making plans.

It was clear we had to perform certain recalibrations. The focus should be shifted away on our accomplishments over the years instead, we should be focused on the things we could achieve in the near future. Personally, I'd prefer to get rid of the thought of building the kind of firm that I imagined one might be interested in buying and start thinking about the kind of company I'd want to own.

The past couple of months have shown me numerous aspects. The most important lesson I learned is that Isolation is a killer for entrepreneurs. In business, it can be quite lonely at moments. There is no better way to build friends and relations that assist you in creating harmony and balance to your work force.

You never know how an interaction can transform into connection...

I had the pleasure of meeting Micah Mitchell at a conference. At the time, he was working with a person who sold a software product similar to that of Member. Most people could have thought they were the most serious competitors. That wasn't something that I was thinking about. the matter and felt that the guy was great and would like to be acquainted with him.

After a few years, Micah quit his old company and created a brand known as Memberium. In the past, many would have thought that he was more of a competitor now. What I did know was that I enjoyed the man.

It was further confirmed when I met him in the security lines at the airport. We had a great chat, talking about what the two of us were working on Then we realized that we had been given the task of sitting close to one another on the flight. Did this happen as a joke? Sure, somebody lined it up. But it was completely random.

It was a fun twist on the same trip we started thinking about the most perfect April Fool's day joke. In it, we'd declare that Micah just acquired Member. We laughed at the thought of it being called Memberium. We might add 360 to the title for a kick. People who read this post might be able comprehend.

The very first time I was assigned seat next to my computer rival (thanks Delta!) turned into a lasting relationship. Our two friends would meet every month to discuss business issues during lunch over several years. Our conversations came to an end shortly after my family and me relocated back to Tennessee. There were many great friendships throughout our time in Utah and it was difficult to leave.

I love developing software. It's thrilling to see an idea come to life is exciting. It's especially thrilling when you're in a team with a fantastic team and the product develops faster than you imagined you could achieve. An excellent example of this is the latest version of the Courses Add-Ons for Member.

While it's exciting however this sounds, the fact is, it's hard. Just when you get to the 1-yard line, and you're just a few yards from getting a goal, you may be running on empty because of all that hard work.

Just as we were wrapping on the design and planning to release the product we developed I started feeling very fatigued. I started to realise that my best move is to seek out an authentic marketing partner. An entity that was knowledgeable about the market and would aid me in moving my Member into the next level. I made a couple of calls to my trusted business acquaintances. My wife advised me that Micah ought to be on the shortlist. I promised my wife that I'd contact him the following day.

Before I had even spoken to Micah Micah, he sent me an SMS. It was similar to sitting alongside him on the plane. Sometimes you just know there is a reason for every thing.

Discussions grew to the idea of selling Member to Micah's business MemberShipper that is also the organization that supports Memberium. What we built using Member was precisely the kind of thing MemberShipper wanted to add to their portfolio.

Over the years, I've had a lot of questions about selling the business. A majority of these did not feel right until this moment. I was determined to make sure that Member be a brand that was strong. In addition, I wanted to ensure that my amazing employees were properly taken by the right people.

Each step, it became increasingly clear that it was the correct next step for Member as well as our team and the hundreds of thousands of wonderful customers who have stayed at our service for so many years.

I'm incredibly thankful for those who have led both sides. They've worked hard to make this transition effortless as possible for me. It's quite impressive to watch everyone working in tandem.

One of the more frequent queries I'm getting right now is "What's going to happen in your daily life? ".

Although I think I'd be REALLY good at retirement, what me really require is a vacation. I'm looking forward to taking an extended time for myself.

What's the importance of this for you if you're a member?

Simply put, you can expect your team to keep innovating and Members is constantly developing and improving. The team isn't going to stop.

I am committed to working alongside Micah along with all the others throughout the entire year. They've put me in a position which could describe as an ideal job. I'm currently the "Director of Strategic Partnerships" for both brands part of MemberShipper.

You can expect to meet me on many occasions in the near future. My own personal goal is to offer the best worth possible over the next year. I would like to witness Member move further with Micah's leadership.

Perhaps I'll remain around more time than you imagined.

I've never had a greater sense of optimism about the future of members than now. It's just the beginning.

The full message on the purchase can be found is available here.

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