The Next Chapter

In 2008, I formed a band together with one of my best friends of the moment. Stu McLaren and me put our talents together to create Member.

We did not know that we were going to embark on an incredible and unimaginable journey. WordPress had been growing at an impressive pace. It was a thrilling time. Nothing was clear but there was a lot of evidence that WordPress could outdo Joomla and Drupal.

To put this into context, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga were turning heads as newcomers on the scene of music. Some of our team members were in the first grade of school when we first got started.

In the world of online marketing the discussion of membership sites were all the rage. Unfortunately, there weren't many options to create a membership site with WordPress. The majority of development firms were focussed on themes. Thus, the premium plug-in market was essentially absent.

We saw this as an opportunity and acted immediately. Mike Lopez was our Jedi coder who could create anything we put him to the test with. He built the first version of Member on his own in less than 3 months.

Similar to my previous business in the field of software, we noticed an opportunity to create an effective solution to this typical challenge. Naturally, Members saw some RAPID Growth. In the beginning, our sales were all driven by words of mouth. We grew for well over one year, before spending nothing on marketing.

This is the kind of opportunity entrepreneurs dream of.

At the beginning of our journey when we first started, we got our first inquiry about selling the business. It was flattering but they were looking for well-established brands where the founder is ready to go home. We were fresh and full of enthusiasm and enthusiasm, therefore it made NO sense.

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

Shortly after the first inquiry I was talking to an acquaintance who I thought of as a reliable adviser. His entrepreneurial experience includes owning several different businesses. One of those is one that is a Venture Capital Firm. He had also sold several businesses during the past. Needless to say, the guy is a pro.

My friend gave me a helpful tip. He stated, "the secret to selling an organization is to find out who is buying and to make your business a perfect match."

The suggestion made lots of sense, but I had a few tiny issues. First, when you have an associate, you're not building a business that just one person would like to build. The partners agree to build together. We can't identify the buyer.

There was a time when Stu and I decided to make Mike a minority partner. 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 teaching and focus specifically on training people to grow profitable membership sites. Mike as well as I both remained with the software company.

In a flash, I took on the role of majority shareholder with member. It was scary as well as exciting at the same time.

Our leadership team and I made a visit to Colorado for a focus on planning.

It became clear that we needed to do some reconfiguring. It was time to put aside the focus on what we've achieved in the past and get focused on what we can accomplish in the future. Personally, I had to put aside the idea of building an organization that I believed someone would want to buy and think about the type of business I'd like to run.

The past several months have shown me many things. A simple one is that Isolation Kills Entrepreneurs. Being in business can be quite lonely at moments. You absolutely must have relationships and friendships that can help you bring balance and order to the forces.

It is impossible to predict the moment when a friendship will blossom into a true friendship...

I met Micah Mitchell at a conference. He was a partner with an individual who had the same software as Member. Some would have considered the company to be the most serious competitors. It wasn't something I thought about. it and just felt like he was a great guy and I'd like to get to know him better.

In the next few years, and Micah had left his previous collaboration and founded a business named Memberium. In the past, many would have considered him even much more of a threat. The only thing I could say was that I loved the man.

The proof was in the fact that I ran into him at the security line at the airport. We enjoyed a wonderful chat catching up on what both of us were working on, then we found out we had been assigned seats with each other on the flight. Did this happen as a joke? Sure, somebody lined it up. It was totally random.

Ironically, on that very exact trip, we also began brainstorming about the most infamous April Fool's Day joke, where we'd announce that Micah has just purchased Member. We thought it might be referred to as Memberium. Perhaps we'll add 360 onto the name in order to add a little fun. Some people who read this will be able to comprehend.

The first time I was given seat in front of my software competition (thanks Delta!) was transformed into a long-lasting friendship. The two of us would meet regularly to talk about business at meals for the following years. Unfortunately, our conversations were over after my family and I returned to Tennessee. There were many great relationships in Utah which was really painful to say goodbye.

I enjoy developing software. The excitement of seeing an idea become a reality is exhilarating. It's especially exhilarating when you work with an awesome team and the product becomes much more than you imagined that it could be. A perfect example of this would be our most recent update for the Courses Add-Ons to Member.

As exciting as all of this sounds, the fact is that it's also difficult. When you reach the line of one yard and it's close to scoring, it's possible to be through the air exhausted from all of your hard work.

When we had finished on the design and planning to launch the product, I began to feel very tired. I was starting to recognize my best move would be to find a real marketing partner. A partner that understood the market , and would help me take Member to the next level. I have made several phone calls to my best business contacts. My wife reminded me that Micah ought to be on the shortlist. I promised my wife that I would contact him the following day.

The moment I called Micah I contacted Micah, he sent me an email. It was similar to sitting with Micah on the plane. It's not always easy to know when things happen for a reason.

Our discussions progressed into the notion of selling Member to Micah's company MemberShipper that is the one that is supporting Memberium. What we were building with Member was exactly what MemberShipper wanted expand their portfolio.

In the past I've received a lot of inquires about selling my company. The majority of them didn't feel right until now. It was very important for me to see Member remain a strong brand. Additionally, I wanted to make sure our amazing team was taken care of.

Each step the process became more evident that it was the right option for the Member as well as the team, and for the many thousands of amazing customers who have stayed with our company for so long.

I am extremely grateful for the teams of leaders from both sides. They've been hard at work to make the transition as simple as they can for me. It's impressive to watch all of them working together.

One of the most frequent questions I get now is "What's coming up in your life?".

Though I believe I'd really enjoy being retired, what I really need is a sabbatical. I'm planning on taking the time to enjoy some well-deserved personal time.

What's all this about when you're a member customer?

In simple terms, you can anticipate the team to keep innovating and Members will continue to be developed and enhanced. It's not going anywhere.

I'm determined to work alongside Micah and the rest of the team for the full year. They have put me into a position which could be described as my dream job. I'm currently the "Director of Strategic Partnerships" for both brand names owned by MemberShipper.

Expect to see me at numerous gatherings in the coming months. My goal is to offer as much value as possible for the next year. I am excited to watch Member advance up to the next step under Micah's guidance.

It's possible that I will remain around longer than anyone would have ever imagined.

I've never been more optimistic about the future of Member as I feel now. It's just the beginning.

You can read Micah's full message regarding the acquisition here.

You might also like...