I want to take a moment here to wish Jon Washburn ALL the very best in his new and future endeavors. Jon Washburn and Bob Stewart brought me into the rain, gave me shelter during the storm, then encouraged and supported me while I helped them build and grow this great network.
I owe a great deal of my experience and success to these guys for giving me the chance, for supporting me through thick and thin, and for bringing me on board to the AR team and family. I am forever grateful to them for letting me take deep root in the soil of this great community.
Thank you Jon for a wonderful journey! May all things good and prosperous be yours and in abundance. The direction and path you are taking today is exactly where you are suppose to be at this time in your life and during your adventure...
Stay true to your passion my friend... always! Do something "AMAZING!" Crush It!
I love ActiveRain and am overwhelmed with bittersweet feelings as I write this post. ActiveRain's core mission means so much to me. The Community, this amazingly rare group of people have far surpassed any vision I could ever dream. I have experienced true emotion from every part of the spectrum throughout my tenure and it's all with thanks to you. It is not an overstatement when I say this was the best job in the world.
However, the core of who I am is a startup entrepreneur and it's my passion and purpose to create new companies with the hopes of changing the world for the better.
With this purpose in mind, today I am announcing that I am moving out of my leadership role with ActiveRain and will be focusing on my new start-up DailyTicket. I will continue to be an ActiveRain champion, evangelist, advisor and significant shareholder.
ActiveRain is a thriving community of like minded real estate professionals and a learning organization that has blessed the entire real estate industry. My initial vision for this community has been realized and it is now time for me to hand over leadership to someone with the expectation that they will continue to shepherd and uphold the values that are the foundation of our community and become the champion for a greater vision for what ActiveRain can become. The CEO selected to lead ActiveRain through this next phase is Nikesh (Niki) Parekh; he has a long history of scaling fast growing technology start-ups and worked with ActiveRain as a consultant in 2008 and earlier this year.
I will continue to work with Niki as he learns about the culture of our community, and I plan to continue to share with everyone about my experiences and challenges associated with launching a new business.
Being a part of this community since the beginning has been an experience of a lifetime. I wish to thank everyone who has supported the mission and the vision of ActiveRain.
"Learn More. Get More. Do More. Be More."
Wow the Changes.....I have found that when we make the Change it is Exhilarating, when they make it to us it is Debilitating..." Good luck and much success Jon. Thank you for the reblog Brad
Endre - Yes, change always brings about more change, and this change will be no different I'm sure.
I'm looking forward to watching and hearing about Jon's new startup. Based on what he was able to accomplish here, I have no doubts at all that he'll do very well.
Brad,
Great comment from a friend to a friend. Well said. You express the wishes for Jon of those like myself who have not had the pleasure of meeting him.
So many changes...
Hey Brad,
Just read about this myself in another post. Then commenting on Johnathan's post I mentioned I witnessed his "passion" in a small group he chaired while in New Orleans.
Without a doubt, he will be missed, yet I congratulate him for having the courage for moving on...not an easy thing for anyone!
Brad,
Changes are never easy, especially when a community/organization is loses such an icon. We wish Jon the absolute best in his new endeavors. No doubt, he will continue to act upon his passion and positively impact new start ups in much the same way he has impacted Active Rain.
With all the competitors popping up against Groupon, I bet in a few years they will have wished they accepted Google's buyout offer. Best of luck to Jon in his new venture.
Brad, another AR change...the best of luck to Jon ... I wish him the best with his new venture!!!
Brad, Bob Stewart's post carried a similar thought. Good luck to a friend,m but not Good Bye. His vision certainly created a great site and a wondrous learning place for all things real estate related. If he didn't think that he had qualified and quality people to run it, he would have been less likely to leave.
Brad,
Great tribute to Jon. I just reat Bob Stewarts post and Jon's post. We can just wish him the best! As I know we all do.
Brad,
I have the upmost respect for you and take great honor in your well wishes. I am so happy to hear about your continued success, happiness and satisfaction with your work at Zillow.
I'm learning that life is best enjoyed when it is approached with a gentle grip. This transition away from ActiveRain is scary for me but I'm excited at the anticipation with what may become.
You are a true friend and I love you like a brother.
Jon - I have learned so much from you, so many lessons and on so many levels of life. I like the "gentle grip" approach as I tend to clutch things too tightly myself at times... Once again I am learning from your wisdom and your passion and gifts of sharing.
Thank you. :-)
I'm not ashamed to say I just cried a little... I love you too man!
Brad, wow. So this is what you hinted about when we spoke last week. This is huge for AR, but life is full of change, that we can guarantee. This platform has changed my life forever in a great way. I will always be grateful to you, Jon, Bob, and the others who spun my head around to the big new world out there.
Sharon