The deal finally closed. Today.
After months of negotiating, after months of finding middle ground, after months of looking over details, numbers, and contract clauses – the deal was finally wrapped up.
Today we announced the acquisition of iThemes – a company run, and partially owned, by my friend Cory Miller.
Did I do the deal because I wanted their people? Yes. But not just that.
Did I do the deal because I wanted their products? Yes. But not just that.
Did I do the deal because I wanted their customers? Yes. But not just that.
I didn’t do this deal alone. In fact I was only a part – validating the decision as the subject matter expert (in both product development and in the WordPress ecosystem) and working on the post-merger plan. I did it with my employer, Liquid Web.
We still come back to the question – why?
And my answer is pretty simple:
- when you find people who see the world the same as you do,
- when you find they have values that line up with your own,
- when the problems you want to solve are the same,
- when the people that have those problems line up,
- when you generate revenue in complementary ways –
When all that comes together, find a way to work together.
If you can accelerate tomorrow’s revenues today, while still serving customers, and do it with integrity – get to it.
Do it.
That’s my advice. And that’s why I did it.