As many of you reading this know, IntenseDebate has been a big focus of my life for nearly 4 years now.  It started as a somewhat random side project to kill some time while I was in grad school (with two guys I met on the internet … seriously), but outgrew even my wildest expectations for it.  There have been a lot of changes over the years in the team, the product, and even the company structure, but in the end I’m happy with where things ended up.  I owe a big part of that success to David and Brad (and more generally TechStars as a whole).  It was our entry into TechStars that really launched this project beyond a hobby and into a company.  I also want to thank the one other person who rode the entire ride with me, my co-founder Isaac.  And lastly, a big thanks to Toni & Matt at Automattic for the opportunities they gave us after they acquired IntenseDebate.

I’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout the company, and had the opportunity to learn a lot.  IntenseDebate will live on without me and continue to grow and improve the commenting experience on sites across the web.  It was exciting to be a part of and I wish the guys keeping her going the best of luck.

So what’s next for me?  That’s a good question.  I’ll be sure to let you know when I do.  Although goodbye’s are always sad, there is also an excitement in starting anew.  I look forward to the craziness that the next project will bring and can’t wait to get my hands dirty on something new.

This company has had a hugely significant impact on my life. When I look back to how things were when this project got started it is amazing to think how much has happened in a relatively short time. I’ve learned a lot from this experience (expect to see a series of blog posts elaborating on this), and I consider it a real blessing that it’s worked as well as it has.

I owe a big thanks to David and Brad of TechStars for believing in me (and the rest of the team) and giving us a huge jump start (as well as plenty of advice/help along the way). I also have to thank Josh who helped get this whole thing off the ground and pushed for us to apply to TechStars in the first place. And of course the rest of the current team: Isaac, Michael, Tom, and Austin who all played an integral role in getting us to where we are today.

So now that I’ve made the blog post equivalent of an acceptance speech, let me wrap this up by just restating how great this opportunity has been. I’ve learned a ton (which is really all I wanted out of this company/experience anyways…the rest has been a bonus) and hope to be able to share that with those around me so that someone else can learn the easy way.

This is not an ending, but rather a new begining…and I can’t wait to see where this path takes me.