The End of an Era

As I move on to new adventures I felt the need to document our 10-year run with the business we started in 2007, if only for myself.

10 years... babies have been born, friends and colleagues have gotten married, businesses have come and gone, the iPhone was released... A lot of things have happened. In that time I was also proud to be able to help create a business from nothing and take it through multiple big phases to a successful conclusion. More important than that, I was able to meet and work with some incredible people that have changed my life forever.

We started very small, in fact, it was just a "little project for Cisco" - building video microsites for their channel partners. As just a contracted technical resource for Strategic Insights I was already excited to be working with one of the well-known local creative agencies in Raleigh, NC. I could also see some potential for a technical and business-minded person like myself to combine forces with the creative and innovative marketing people at Strategic Insights.

We took full advantage of the situation and before you know it we were working on content syndication for their channel partners. We were replacing a big vendor that had $50M in venture capital and 10 years behind them. But they sucked. Their platform was archaic (even compared to my code!), their customer service was bad - but, most of all, they didn't see where the future was going. Our mission was to destroy them and take all their clients. It was (stressful, challenging and) a lot of fun. We started SharedVue and began the steady march forward.

Early on there was the little issue of a cease-and-desist letter regarding a (ridiculous!) patent we were supposedly violating. Within a matter of days I'd come up with an even better technical solution and did our best to jam it down their thoughts. It was funny how that relationship later resulted in offers to work together.

Thanks, we're good here. Good luck on getting a return on the $50M you borrowed.

We grew from just a couple of us to include some part-timers, interns and some of the creative team from Strategic Insights. We were self-funded through an amazing board of directors and my co-founder and I reinvesting our salaries back into the business for quite a while. We stayed under the radar. We didn't have the resources or time to try and out-market the stale, old competition or the new up-and-coming, also disruptive, competitors coming on the scene. So, we worked quietly to get in and stir up trouble and opportunities with some of the biggest technology companies in the world.

It was 2008 and 2009. We were syndicating with thousands of Salesforce.com partners - generating free trials and adding to their revenue. We were global with people like VMware - syndicating content in 12 languages and building out an email marketing program. Cisco was throwing project after project at us - including money. It was hard to say "no" - in fact, I'm not sure that was in our vocabulary.

We did well, quickly growing to 6, 7, 8 customers. It was pretty crazy. We were, in all aspects, busting at the seams. More work, stress, opportunities, ideas, projects, challenges, bugs - than we knew what to do with. But, we had amazing people. People that had also never done this before. But, we had a great bond. We loved (most of the time) working with each other, hanging out, solving problems and helping pull each other up when the inevitable stress overwhelmed someone. I loved it - but it was very very hard.

Keep in mind, this was the "worst economy in 20 years" some said. It was tough times for a start-up - but the channel was relatively stable and my business partner had a solid path charted for us. We were finding new opportunities and making good headway stealing business from others. It also began to draw some attention to us. Offers to partner-up and work together, offers of investment. But, also the opportunity for acquisition.

In 2010 our profitable little start-up was acquired and became part of Everything Channel - the leader in the IT channel and home of CRN magazine, Xchange events and a host of thought leaders and experts. They were previously acquired and part of a large, multinational conglomerate - UBM. The acquisition process was very educational and I felt a great deal of responsibility to be transparent but also focus on the strengths and innovation of what we had built. We also had great support from our finance director, cleaning everything up, and the board, helping us navigate unfamiliar territory. It wouldn't have happened without all of us doing our part.

Obviously this was a great step for a self-funded, never-done-this-before, software as a service startup. There were about 13 of us and we made the most of this great opportunity. I'm so proud that since day one we had been, and always were, profitable. That may sound bad to someone in the VC-world or on the West Coast - but to us it was the best way to minimize risk and grow a business with true, intrinsic value. It's something sorely missing in today's new technology world in my opinion.

Growing was tough - even before the acquisition. We had to create whole teams and processes. Gone were the days of just "knocking out some code". We had to support it (ohhh, the bugs...), create content, talk to partners, manage projects, handle growing lists of paid feature requests - it was a lot. But, again - the people and our "Get Sh*t Done" attitude and lean innovation got us through it. Interns that began just doing administrative work over time had taken ownership of accounts and managed account coordinators. Technical guys that had come in were now helping with support and product development. Our first engineer begin a full "version 2" rewrite of our platform. Our team built one of the strongest customer support groups in the industry - a key differentiator for us. It was incredible to witness and be a part of.

The acquisition opened a whole new set of challenges for us. We were now part of someone else's business - which was part of a much larger business. It was challenging for us to adjust. It didn't help that the deal structure essentially locked-in a profit target which prevented any real investment in the business for almost 3 years. Sounds good on paper but for a digital marketing SaaS business in 2010 this turned out to be a big mistake. We weren't able to turn the dial up on engineering, innovate with new product ideas or do any real marketing. Just sell. At the time it was part of a very reasonable plan and we continued executing and did very well - we just didn't realize the opportunity cost underneath it. It protected the risk of the buyer and provided a quick (very appreciated) return for us. But, in terms of growing and expanding the business in a 3- and 5-year timeline it essentially froze us on a too-linear trajectory - not a hockey stick.

It was challenging - and amazing - to go from 9 customers up to 50. The staff grew, we changed offices, we lost some incredible and amazing people. It was tough saying "goodbye" to friends and colleagues that helped us get where we were. But, it was a changing business - we all understood. And for some people it was simply time to take what they learned and apply it somewhere else. I always tried to take pride that I had a small role in helping people get a step-up in their career. They certainly had a big impact on me.

I was able to do a good amount of international traveling in 2011 and 2012. China, the UK, Amsterdam - it was a lot of fun. I really liked working with the executive team and our Everything Channel colleagues. We had a yearly strategic planning meeting that I always enjoyed. But, I always felt like we were the outsider in the business - the only ones talking about platforms, engineers, devops, MVP, product roadmaps, etc. We had very unique challenges to try and serve our growing list of customers with their requests of our platform. It just wasn't a real natural fit within the structure and people of the successful channel business. I'm not convinced that, at the end of the day, the Everything Channel team really, really wanted a software business. But, we all worked hard and did fairly well.

Wow, and those Christmas parties! Santa Baby... and lots of adult beverages. Avoid the limoncello, it'll wreck you.

In 2013, when my founding business partner left, I took on a role outside of product and engineering as the interim managing director of the SharedVue business. For a while it was great - a good learning experience and the ability to broaden my skills. However, it became the hardest, most stressful and challenging part of the last 10 years. Despite the trust, confidence and support of everyone around me - and the executive team - I was very unhappy. It was also a tough time for the business. The channel was going through a down cycle, budgets were tightening, there were a number of competitors flooding the market and doing some incredible things. I was spending no time on the platform or with the engineers and spending a lot of time on client issues and bickering, sometimes toxic employees. I'm thankful every day for my wife and my faith that helped me hold it together.

This all lead to one of my favorite events. We brought in a business partner for me - reinforcements had arrived! We split the leadership responsibilities in two. I was able to focus on technology and product with my colleague focusing on customers and sales. We both continued working with the executive team. It felt like a shot of adrenaline and an enormous burden off my shoulders. We started doing some innovation and tried to find our footing from a culture perspective.

Every 18 months or so there was a big event. In 2013 the big event was that the channel division in UBM (including SharedVue) was spinning-off from UBM and forming an independent business - The Channel Company. We were all excited and it said a lot that UBM didn't just let us all go. The channel executive team saw enough potential to invest and grow an independent business. But, being a technical problem solver and good with general business processes I was recruited to help with the separation - kind of a CIO/CTO role. It was both challenging and rewarding - and I think I did a really good job - migrating a hundred employees, multiple offices, varying technology needs, managing a very challenging IT partner to "help" with the migration, and - in the end - saving a ton of money. However, once again the opportunity cost hurt us. Instead of working on product and innovation SharedVue stagnated a bit - losing some market share and falling behind our goals. I also had lost touch with a number of my colleagues - losing a bit of the pulse of the business.

Things were challenging, without marketing and product innovation some customer accounts were tough to renew and employee turnover was a problem. We didn't have the budget to retain some key, experienced people or hire as many new, top-notch people that we needed. We got leaner and made sure to focus on key accounts and prioritize our technology and platform efforts. We adapted and continued to solve problems.

In about another 18 months the next major event happened - the last chapter for SharedVue. We were acquired a second time from The Channel Company to Zift Solutions - one of our biggest competitors for the last 6+ years. While there had been rumors it was still a shock to many of us. I was proud to have been part of building our business and building a lot of value for the Channel Company executive team. But, it was another significant change for us. Now we were part of a technology business. Not just a tech business but a Software as a Service marketing automation business - with an experienced leadership team and the backing of a number of venture capital teams. A business we had sold against, fought with and were continually battling for the top spot in the Through Partner Marketing Automation space.

The businesses were extremely similar providing opportunities for a number of our people to be on bigger teams or take on some additional management responsibilities. But it was a much different culture. While there were some people with GSD, "in the trenches together" mentalities there were many that were not. And that was tough on our people - not feeling like management had their back. It was also tough being in a very silo'd business. SharedVue had gone through a couple stages where we were forced to add a middle-management layer and break through the typically adversarial challenges between sales, accounts and engineering. We had learned to communicate and to work with a lot less - to build processes and automation so we could scale. We were by no means experts and SharedVue was far from perfect but this new environment was a challenge for a number of people. Over time the Zift management team continued to mature and work to make positive change.

Personally, it was hard for me to find a spot. They had a really smart, tight "inner circle" that included engineering, solution development, technical sales, etc. What I was good at had defined roles filled with smart people that had been together for a while. It was a tough wall I never seemed to penetrate.

I was able to help with a number of key initiatives. The biggest was the migration of SharedVue customers into the new business - a business we had actively sold against for years. So, there were some interesting challenges and customer conversations. It took a year but, through the efforts of some amazing people (from both businesses), the accounts that remained were migrated over.

I also found myself working on quite a few operational/tactical projects. Most projects were responses or solutions to challenges from the rapid growth (doubling the business) when they acquiring us. Things like helping define defect management, working with account managers on scoping and planning out solutions and helping handle requests from very large clients. We setup a Center of Excellence group where I would help define best practices and processes for handling the non-standard kinds of requests.

Late in 2016 a key executive management member was added, he had been with an analyst firm for over 7 years focused on the channel. He is the thought leader and expert in the channel space. I was able to work closely with him as we really matured the Center of Excellence. We started providing training programs and targeted engagements for specific customer challenges. It has been an enormously beneficial 6 months for me learning from him.

In 2017 Zift dramatically expanded its product and service offerings. Rather than focusing just on through partner marketing it was now providing Channel as a Service - covering the full spectrum of channel needs. It is a response to a changing industry that has a lot of small players and where consolidation is the next logical evolutionary stage. I helped play a key role in training and supporting sales, accounts and other teams as the business focused on a much broader set of challenges and solutions.

And that brings us to today. When I talk to colleagues they reminisce and look back fondly on SharedVue. There are always the bruises and scars but I hear over and over how fondly people were of those they worked with - and how proud they were of what they contributed. And the inside jokes are hilarious.

I'm very happy with what we accomplished. Despite chasing distractions, biting off more than we could chew, making (or not making) personnel choices, crazy technology decisions - I think we are a success. SharedVue made a lot of people money and helped a lot of businesses. I think about not just how profoundly it affected my life but the lives of those that jumped in with both feet and were committed to the cause - and more importantly, committed to the people around them. I hope they are proud of what they contributed because I am deeply proud of them.

Along the path I was able to meet and learn from incredible people - from Everything Channel, UBM, The Channel Company, Zift - brilliant people helping me grow personally and professionally.

The night before we told our staff about the first big acquisition in 2010 (almost exactly 7 years ago as I write this) I couldn't sleep. I was too excited. I wrote out a manifesto and shared it with my business partner the next morning. After his encouragement I (embarrassingly) shared it with the staff of about 13 people. It ended with the following which sums-up my feelings of the last 10 years - especially the early SharedVue years:

This business is made up of passionate, amazing, talented, creative, dedicated people. It inspires me to be surrounded by our people, and clients, and innovation – and that is what brings out the potential and successes in our future.

People see us as innovators – experts – specialists – problem-solvers. They can get frustrated because they have very high expectations of us - and we will exceed those expectations.

This has been just the beginning for all of us. I’m ridiculously excited about our future. It will be tough, emotional and challenging at times because we are doing what very few people get to do – we are not content with the status quo and we are catalysts for change and innovation.

The final chapter is written and the book is closed on this adventure. It's a collection of some of my proudest moments and biggest fears. A story of people I will never forget and an experience I never would have survived without my loving and patient wife. "Thank you" to everyone that had a role in this journey.