The Next Chapter

In 2008, I teamed up along with one of my close acquaintances from my past. Stu McLaren and me combined our skills and created Member.

We never imagined that we'd be on an exciting and unimaginable journey. WordPress has been growing in a staggering amount. It was a thrilling period. There was a lot to consider to find what the best answer was, however there are many indications that WordPress is going to beat Joomla and Drupal.

In order to put it in perspective, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga have made noises in the current music scene. Some of us were attending elementary school when we began.

With regards to internet-based marketing, debates regarding membership websites were popular. There were however, not many options to create an online website for members who used WordPress. Numerous development companies concentrated on themes. So, the premium plug-in market wasn't really an option.

We saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of this opportunity, and we immediately acted. Mike Lopez was our Jedi engineer, who could design the software we tested him using. The first version was created by Mike Lopez of Member independently within less than three months.

Similar to my previous business using software however, we could see an opportunity to meet it, so we developed the perfect solution to this usual problem. It's no surprise that our company could expand quickly. The beginning of the company, sales were driven entirely by the influence of word-of-mouth. The business grew almost a full year, before they spent no cash for marketing.

This is the type of opportunity that an entrepreneur can only imagine.

The very first day of our existence, we received our first enquiry about selling our business. It was an enjoyable surprise, but they wanted to purchase brands with the support of a reliable owner, willing to take a break. The team was fresh and buzzing with energy, and this didn't seem to make sense.

The initial test was found to be true. Members were always "Built to market" and there were a lot of individuals in the market.

Following the initial inquiry I was talking with an acquaintance I had thought of as a reliable advisor. His entrepreneurial experience includes owning several different businesses. One of these is an Venture Capital Company. Its founder has also had several businesses sold over the years. Naturally, the man is a proven experience of success.

My friend gave me a valuable tip. He explained, "the secret to selling your company is to identify whom your ideal buyer might be and ensure that all the aspects you do on behalf of your business are a perfect match."

These suggestions made sense to me However, there were small problems. When working together with a partner, there's no way to build a company with only one partner prefer to create. A joint venture is one that each partner is willing to build together. However, we are unable to identify the buyer.

Along the way, Stu and I decided to make Mike one of our associates. This was likely in the year 2010.

A dramatic change took place that took place in the last quarter of 2014. Stu made the decision to pursue his love of teaching and focus specifically on helping people build profitable websites for membership. Mike along with me both remain at the firm that develops software.

In a flash, I became the largest shareholder along with a member. It was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

The team I was a part of as the leader I was in and I traveled to Colorado in order to concentrate on getting ready.

It was clear it was time for an overhaul. Our focus had to change on the things we've accomplished throughout the years, and then be certain about the things we're able to do in the near long term. For me personally, it was necessary to give up the notion of creating an organization that I thought people might be interested in purchasing and think about the kind of business I'd like to run.

The last few months have shown many things to me. One of the best lessons I have learned is that Isolation is the biggest killer of entrepreneurs. Business can be quite lonely at times. There's no better approach to develop relationships and create friendships which can assist in bringing peace and harmony to the working forces.

It's difficult to anticipate the moment when a relationship can be transformed into a relationship...

I was fortunate to have the honor of meeting Micah Mitchell at a conference. He was communicating with a salesperson offering an app that was similar to Member. There are some who might consider that company as one of the one with the highest level of competition. I wasn't sure about it and just felt like the person was awesome and would love acquainted with him.

In the next few years, Micah was able to leave his former collaboration and founded a business known as Memberium. At one point, many would have considered him to be more of a threat. One thing I'm able to say is that I liked the man.

It was further confirmed when I saw him during the security line on my journey towards the airport. We enjoyed a wonderful time talking about the activities we'd been doing and, later, we discovered that we were assigned seats adjacent to each other during the flight. Is this an intentional ploy? Perhaps, somebody created the whole situation. This was certainly not random.

On that exact vacation, we started planning our April Fool's gag, in which we would reveal that Micah had just bought Member. It was fun to think that the company could be called Memberium. There is a possibility of adding 360 to the name to make it more interesting. A few people reading might be able to understand.

The very first time I got a seat near the program I was competing against (thanks Delta!) became a lasting friendship. Our two friends met every month to discuss business issues during a lunch break throughout the years. Meetings eventually ended after my family and I returned to Tennessee. Our friendships were great across Utah which was really hard for me to part with them.

I enjoy designing software. It's thrilling to see an idea realized is exciting. Particularly when you're part of a community of incredible people as your product grows far more rapidly than you ever imagined it could be. An excellent example is the most recent update for the courses add-ons that are available to members.

While it's exciting as this may sound, the reality is that it's also demanding. If you make it to the final yard, which is only a couple of yards away from reaching the goal, you could be running around the field exhausted from all of your exertion.

When we began to work on the design and developing the release date of our new product, I was exhausted. I realized that my best move would be to seek an authentic marketing partner. Someone who was knowledgeable about the market , and would be able to help me to move my Member through the next step. I made a couple of calls to my top contacts within the industry. My wife mentioned that Micah is one of my lists of possible candidates. I promised her to contact him on the next day.

After I called Micah I received an SMS message. It was as if he were sitting beside me during the flight. It's hard to know if there's a reason for everything.

Discussions grew to the possibility that we sell Member to Micah's business MemberShipper which is the business which manages Memberium. It was discovered that the sort of project we'd created using Member was precisely the kind that MemberShipper would like to incorporate into their portfolio.

In the past I've been asked hundreds of queries regarding selling the business. It's never been appropriate to me up until this point. I was obligated to make sure that Member continue to grow as a firm. In addition, I wanted make sure that the amazing team would be looked after.

Every step the process became more clear this was the best option for the Members as well as the team, and for our millions of wonderful clients who have been an integral part of our company for so long.

I am extremely grateful for the leaders on both the sides. They've been hard at work to make this transition as easy as possible for me. It's quite remarkable to observe the team working with a sense of unity.

One of the most frequent questions I get is "What's going to happen to you? ".

While I'm convinced that I'm quite good at retirement, all I really need is to take a absconding. I'm thinking of having a longer period of time to be entirely by me.

What's the significance of this if you're one of our members?

Simple as that You can trust your team members will keep offering new ideas and that members will grow and improve. The team will not stop.

I'm eager to collaborate with Micah as well as others on the team throughout the entire year. I'm in a job which could be described as my perfect job. I'm currently a "Director of Strategic Partnerships" for both brands that are part of MemberShipper.

There is a chance to meet me at various events in the next few months. My goal personally is to offer the highest worth possible over the next year. I'm excited to see Member progress to the next level under Micah's leadership.

Perhaps I'll be around longer than you anticipated.

I've never been more optimistic regarding the future of Members than I am today. This is just the beginning.

The entire press release on the acquisition about the purchase is available on this site..

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