Our Next Chapter

The year 2008 was when I teamed up along with one of my most close friends of the moment. Stu McLaren and I put our skills together and created Member.

We didn't know we were about to embark on a thrilling and unprecedented journey. WordPress had been increasing at a phenomenal rate. It was a thrilling time. There was no clear answer, but there were many signs that WordPress will outdo Joomla and Drupal.

In order to put it in perspective, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga had been making waves in the new music scene. Some of our team members were still in grade school at the time we began.

In the world of online marketing, discussions about membership sites were all the rage. Unfortunately, there weren't many options to create an online membership website using WordPress. Most development companies were concentrated on themes. Consequently, the premium plugin market was essentially not even a thing.

We saw it as an opportunity, and we acted quickly. Mike Lopez was our Jedi engineer who could design anything we put him to the test with. He developed the first version of Member on his own in less than 3 months.

As with my previous software businesses, we saw a demand so we created the perfect solution to the typical issue. It's no surprise that Member was able to see some rapid growth. The first year, sales were all driven by word of word. The company grew by more than an entire year prior to spending nothing on marketing.

This is the kind of opportunity an entrepreneur dreams of.

Early into our history the company received its first enquiry about selling our business. It was flattering but they were seeking existing brands that had a strong owner who was ready to retire. We were young and full of energy and enthusiasm, therefore it made no sense.

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

Following the initial question I was talking to a friend who I also believed to be a trustworthy adviser. His entrepreneurial experience includes owning several different businesses. One of these is an Venture Capital Firm. The founder also sold numerous businesses in the past. Naturally, the guy is a pro.

A friend of mine shared an important piece of advice. He explained, "the secret to selling your business is to determine who the purchaser will be and make sure that everything you do about your business a perfect match."

The advice made a lot of sense for me, however there were some small problems. When you're working with a partner you're never building a business that just one person would like to build. It's a joint venture that the partners agree to build together. Second, we could never identify the buyer.

Somewhere along the way, Stu and I decided to make Mike an associate. It was probably in the year 2010.

It was a dramatic change in late 2014. Stu made the decision to continue his passion for teaching and focus specifically on helping people build profitable membership sites. Mike and I both remained with the software company.

Suddenly, I became the majority shareholder with member. It was scary as well as thrilling at the same time.

The leadership team I was part of and my took a trip to Colorado for a focus on preparing.

It became abundantly clear that we needed to do some recalibration. The focus needed to shift on the things we've accomplished in the past and get clear on what we could achieve in the near future. Personally, I needed to put aside the idea of building the kind of company that I imagined people would be interested in buying and start thinking about what sort of company I'd like to run.

These past few years have taught me numerous things. The most important lesson I learned is that Isolation Kills Entrepreneurs. Being in business can be very lonely at times. There is no better way to build relationships and friendships that can aid in bringing balance and order to the forces.

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

I met Micah Mitchell at a conference. He was working with a person who was selling an application similar to Member. Many people would have considered the company to be the most serious competitors. I didn't think much of it and just felt like the guy was great and I'd like to get to know him more.

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 guy.

It was further confirmed when I ran into him at the security line at the airport. We had a great time discussing the things each of us had been working on and then, we discovered that we had been assigned seats next to each other during the flight. Is this just a ploy? It's likely that someone lined this up. Nope, it was completely random.

Ironically, on that very exact trip, we also began planning the ultimate April Fool's day joke, where we'd announce that Micah just acquired Member. It was funny to think that it could be referred to as Memberium. We might even tack 360 onto the name for kicks. A few people reading might be able to understand.

The first time I was assigned seat next to my software competition (thanks Delta!) became a lasting friendship. He and I would meet every month to discuss business issues over lunch for the next few years. Our meetings eventually were over after my family and I relocated back to Tennessee. We made some great friendships throughout Utah which was really hard leaving them behind.

I enjoy designing software. The thrill of having an idea come to life is thrilling. It's particularly thrilling when you're working with an incredible team, and the product grows much more than you imagined it would be. One great example could be the most recent update for the Courses Add-Ons for Member.

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

As we wrapped on the design and planning for the release of our new product, I was feeling very tired. I began to realize that my best move would be to seek out a true partner in marketing. Someone who understood the marketplace and could assist me to take Member up to the next step. I made a couple of calls to my best business contacts. My wife told me that Micah is on my list of candidates. I made her a promise that I would contact him on the next day.

The moment I called Micah He randomly texted me an SMS message. It was almost like sitting next to him on the flight. It's not always easy to know when there is a reason for everything.

Our discussions progressed into an idea to sell Member to Micah's firm MemberShipper that is the company supporting Memberium. The result was that what we had been building through Member was precisely the kind of thing MemberShipper wanted to include in their portfolio.

Over the years, I've had hundreds of questions about selling the company. They've never felt quite right, until this moment. It was very important for me to have Member continue as a growing company. I also wanted to make certain that our wonderful team would be looked after.

Every step the process became more clear this was the most beneficial future for Members as well as the team, and for the thousands and thousands wonderful customers that have been with our company for so long.

I'm incredibly thankful for the leaders on both sides. They've been hard at work to make this transition simple as they can for me. It's quite impressive to see everyone working cohesively.

One of the most frequent questions I get currently is "What's coming up to you?".

Though I believe I'd be REALLY good at retiring, what do I need really is a sabbatical. I am planning to take an extended period of time for myself.

What's the significance of this when you're a member customer?

In simple terms, you can be sure that the team will continue providing innovation and Member will continue to be developed and improved. It's not going anywhere.

I'm determined to work together with Micah as well as the rest of the team for the entire year. I'm in a job which could be described as my ideal job. I'm now the "Director of Strategic Partnerships" for both brands owned by MemberShipper.

You can expect to meet me at numerous conferences in the near future. My own personal goal is to provide the most value possible in the coming year. I am excited to watch Member advance up to the next step under Micah's guidance.

Perhaps I'll be around for much more time than you imagined.

I've never been more optimistic about the future of Member like I do today. It's just the beginning.

The full announcement about the purchase on the acquisition here.

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