Hanging up the surf board ππ»ββοΈππΌ
After 5 rewarding and fun years - the time has come to hang up the surfboard ππ»ββοΈ
And move on from Surfly β¦
To say this post is not emotional, would be untrue π₯²
What an exhilarating adventure it has been π’
During these 5 years, we really caught some gnarly waves together
Since first meeting Nicholas for some beers at The Waterhole in Leidseplein, Amsterdam π»
A grungy, rock nβ roll dive bar below our first office in Amsterdam π€πΌ
There were lots of more beers through the yearsβ¦
Including lots of tequila and whatever poison anyone bought back from worldly travels π₯
Countless missions to all corners of the world π
Winning many smiles with some outrageous out-of-office emails π
And winning many high-profile awards which helped place the brand firmly on the map π
A brand that became synonymous with cool tech, next-gen CX and collaboration π₯
Which in turn led to catching a wave of awesome growth π
10Xβing our revenue during the 5 years π
As well as an epic wave of personal and professional growth π£
I had a go at building a sales team from scratch π·π»ββοΈ
Juggling over a dozen different hats at once π©
Tough work ππ»
Learning a lot of things the hard way π
By rolling up the sleeves and getting stuck in πͺπΌ
It also helped me learn that selling is really what I love most π¨π»βπΌ
Helping change makers find great technical solutions to big hairy problems πΉ
On that same note, the journey also helped me grow my first grey hairs π΄π»
I guess the best solution there, is embracing all that wisdom π¦
In the end, it was all worth itβ¦
We launched with many amazing, renowned global brands. Tons of innovation and so many inspiring folk who broke the status quo to advance their companies π
π§πππ‘π π¬π’π¨ π§π’ πππ π§ππ’π¦π ππͺππ¦π’π π ππ¨π¦π§π’π ππ₯π¦ ππΌ
Drove phenomenal partnerships with leading tech companies around the world. So many great executives, sales and technical teams that I had the blessing of working together with π€©
π§πππ‘π π¬π’π¨ π§π’ πππ π§ππ’π¦π ππͺππ¦π’π π π£ππ₯π§π‘ππ₯π¦ ππΌ
And last but not least, itβs all about the people ππ»ββοΈ
The people who really put in all their energy into making it a success β‘οΈ
It always takes a tribe to achieve anything remarkable π₯
The Surfers who tirelessly paddled out together to catch them big waves π
Through the ups and downs of startup life πͺ
Our engineering team have more super powers than all of the DC Comics heroes and Marvel heroes and Neo combined - I salute them
And I am sure the commercial team wonβt stop evangelizing the Surfly magic and keep metamorphosing into the revenue generating machines that they were destined to be
π§πππ‘π π¬π’π¨ π§π’ πππ π§ππ’π¦π ππͺππ¦π’π π π¦π¨π₯πππ₯π¦ ππΌ
I can't wait to see how the story evolves and I will be cheering from the sidelines ππΌ
Soooo, whatβs nextβ
The next chapter for me, at the start of May, is an exceptionally exciting position at DataStax (company behind Cassandra that developers love, mission critical tech for Apple, Uber, Meta & more) to spearhead sales of Astra and power the future of real-time AI and data. I'll be joining an inspirational CEO and other cool ex-colleagues that I had the pleasure of working with during my Apigee chapter.
First, I'll be working on my new castle in the sky, travelling all over as usual, building lego and furniture, sticking to my hardcore workout schedule, playing guitar, getting tipsy on some tasty IPAs, enjoying quality time with family and friends and more of the good things in life
Finally, to all the young professionals starting their career, join early stage #startups at the start of your journey π£
The attitude, resilience, resourcefulness, adaptability, independence and work ethic that you develop will be invaluable in your career and in life β
BIG LOVE βπΌβ€οΈ
p.s. and hereβs to rambling onβ¦
