Friends,
Today we announced the sale of Liquid Web to a private equity firm to the LW staff and to the public. The sale should be a positive step for the growth in the company and help it get to the next level. I wanted you to hear it from me before reading it in the news or hearing a rumor about it.
It has been an incredibly fun ride, I have learned a ton and made a lot of amazing friends. As I look back on my 9+ years at liquidweb there are many things that I am happy about...
- Growing from ~30 employees to over 450
- Making Lansing one of the top 20 cities for web site hosting in the entire world
- Being an INC Magazine fastest growing private company for 8 consecutive years.
- growing from ~3 million in revenue to over $68 million
- Delighting customers on a daily basis
- Attaining a net promoter score of 65 (in the neighborhood of companies like Apple)
- Providing benefits to same sex spouses
- Having incredible company events. Riverboat parties, holiday parties, bus figure 8's, chili cook-offs, Redwing's outings and so many more
- But most of all, the people that I have met here
These are just a few of the things that came to mind and by no means a complete list. The team at LW has done remarkable things and I am proud to be a small part of it. I learn from them everyday and they have made me a better person.
This process has been going on for 9 months and it has been incredibly stressful. Thanks to Laken Ray for her support and my dear friend Chris Strandt.
Matt Hill, you built something that has had a profound effect on many lives and I am glad you asked me to help build your first sales and marketing team. I will never forget us negotiating my salary over Jägerbomb's at half off harpers night. :)
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I have been incredibly fortunate to work for two amazing companies in my career, TechSmith and Liquid Web Inc. Not many people can say that and I am incredibly grateful. There are no immediate plans for my departure. This is just a good time to reflect on where we have been.