Our Next Chapter

The year 2008 was when I joined up along with one of my best acquaintances at the time. Stu McLaren and I combined our skills together and created Member.

We didn't know we would embark on an amazing and unimaginable journey. WordPress was expanding at a rapid growth rate. It was a thrilling time. There was no clear answer, but there were a number of signs suggesting that WordPress would surpass both Joomla and Drupal.

For a better understanding, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga became the talk of the town in the new music scene. Many of the current members were still in grade school when we first established ourselves.

In the internet marketing world discussion about membership websites were all the rage. Unfortunately, there weren't any options for creating the membership-oriented website with WordPress. Most development companies were focused on themes. Consequently, the premium plugin market was essentially absent.

We saw it as an opportunity to take action immediately. Mike Lopez was our Jedi programmer, who was able to create whatever we put him to the test with. He created the initial 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 problem. It's no surprise that Member saw some RAPID Growth. In the beginning, our sales were all driven by words of mouth. The company grew by more than one year, before spending nothing on marketing.

These are the opportunities the entrepreneur hopes to take advantage of.

At the beginning of our journey when we first started, we got our first enquiry about selling our company. It was flattering but they were seeking well-established brands where the founder had decided to go home. We were fresh and full of life and enthusiasm, therefore it made zero sense.

Ultimately, the first inquiry proved to be a valid validation. Member was always "Built to Sell" There were many who were interested.

Shortly after the first inquiry I had a conversation with a friend who I also considered a trusted advisor. His entrepreneurial experience includes owning several different businesses. One of those is an Venture Capital Firm. The founder also sold numerous businesses during the past. It's no surprise that this guy knows his stuff.

My friend gave me a helpful point of wisdom. He stated, "the secret to selling an organization is to find out who is buying and make sure that everything you do about your company a perfect fit."

The suggestion made lots of sense to me but I had a few tiny issues. First, when you have partners, you're not creating a company that one person wants. The partners are able to agree on to build. The second reason is that we cannot identify the buyer.

There was a time when Stu and I formed Mike a minority partner. It was probably in the year 2010.

The landscape changed dramatically in the latter half of 2014. Stu determined to follow his love of teaching and focus specifically on training people to grow effective membership websites. Mike and I both remained at the software firm.

Then, I was the largest shareholder along with member. It was scary as well as exhilarating at the same.

My team of leaders and I took a trip to Colorado in order to focus on preparing.

It was clear we had to perform some recalibration. We needed to stop focusing on what we've achieved through the years, and instead get certain of what we are able to achieve in the near future. Personally, I wanted to let go of the thought of creating the kind of company that I imagined someone would want to buy and begin thinking about the sort of company I'd like to run.

The past several years have taught me many things. One simple lesson is that Isolation is the death of entrepreneurs. The running of a business is very lonely at moments. You absolutely must have friends and relations that help you bring balance and order to the force.

You never know when a relationship will turn into friendship...

I met Micah Mitchell at a conference. At the time, he was working with a person who was selling a software product similar to Member. A lot of people would have thought them to be the most serious competitors. I wasn't thinking much about it , and simply felt the guy was great and I'd like to get to know him better.

In the next few years, and Micah was leaving his former partnership and started a company named Memberium. It was also the case that people considered him even less of a rival. All I knew was that I loved the guy.

The proof was in the fact that I bumped into him during the security checkpoint at the airport. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation, discussing what each of us had been working on, then we found out we were assigned to sit with each other on the plane. Is this just a ploy? It's likely that someone lined this up. But it was random.

On that same trip, we started brainstorming about the best April Fool's joke in which we announced that Micah recently acquired Member. It was funny to think that it could be referred to as Memberium. Perhaps we'll add 360 onto the name for kicks. Some people who read this will be able to comprehend.

It began as an unintentionally given seat in front of my software rival (thanks Delta!) turned into a valuable friendship. We would get together every month to discuss business issues over dinner for the next couple of years. Sadly, our meetings ended when my family and I returned to Tennessee. There were many great relationships in Utah as well. It was really hard leaving them behind.

I enjoy developing software. The thrill of having an idea become a reality is thrilling. It's especially exhilarating when you work with an amazing team and your product is much more than you imagined it would be. One great example is our latest release for the Courses Add-Ons to Member.

As exciting as all of this sounds, the fact is that it's also demanding. Just when you get to the 1-yard mark and you're nearing time to score, you could be through the air exhausted from all of your efforts.

When we had finished with the creation and plan to launch the product I found myself feeling very tired. I started to realise that my best move would be to seek out a true market partner. Someone who understood the market and could help me move my Member up to the next step. I have made several phone calls to my most trusted business acquaintances. My wife told me that Micah is on my shortlist. I promised her that I would reach out to him the following day.

Just before I contacted Micah I contacted Micah, he sent me a text message. It was almost like sitting next to Micah on the plane. Sometimes you just know there is a reason for everything.

The discussions grew into an idea to sell Member to Micah's firm MemberShipper that is the one that is supporting Memberium. What we had been building with Member was exactly what MemberShipper was looking to expand their portfolio.

In the past I've received a lot of inquiries about selling the company. They've never felt right until now. It was very important for me to see Member continue as a growing name. I also wanted to make sure that the amazing staff will be well taken care of.

Every step the process became more evident that it was the right future for Members, the team and the thousands and thousands of wonderful customers that have been with us over the years.

I'm extremely thankful for the leaders on both sides. They've worked hard to make this transition simple as they can for me. It's impressive to watch the team working in a cohesive manner.

The common question I'm getting now is "What's coming up to you?".

While I do think I'd do really well retirement, do I need really is a sabbatical. I'm planning to take an extended period of time for myself.

What's all this about if you're a Member customer?

To put it in simple terms, you can anticipate the team to keep offering new ideas and the Member platform continues to be improved and refined. The company isn't going to stop.

I'm committed to working alongside Micah as well as the rest of the team for the whole year. They have put me in a job which could be described as my dream job. I'm currently the "Director of Strategic Partnerships" for both brands that are owned by MemberShipper.

You can expect to meet me at many conferences in the near future. My goal is to provide as much value as possible for the next year. I am excited to watch Member advance further with Micah's leadership.

It's possible that I will be around for much longer than I ever expected.

I've never felt better regarding the future of Member as I feel now. The company is just beginning to get started.

Read Micah's complete announcement regarding the acquisition right here.

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