Thank you Jon!

Today is Jon Hills last official day with the company. I wanted to share a few words with my network to show my gratitude for everything Jon has done for me and the company during his tenure. 

When I first met Jon I think I was only just 20yrs old. I had lots of ideas (some good, mostly bad). I had ambition and I had lots of energy (more than I do now!!) - but I was really struggling to articulate my thoughts in ways that made sense to anyone but me. I also lacked credibility having never started a tech company nor having any people around that had done. 

Jon saw past my lack experience and what I would call naivety and invested in me as a person. He saw something in me others hadn't yet - even myself. Prior to us officially working together Jon took time to understand me and how my thoughts were conceived so he could help me better communicate them to others; whether that be future staff members I was trying to hire or future investors. 

With Jon backing me I was able to believe in myself and, with that belief, we were able to attract some really amazing people, many of whom are still with us today. I will never be able to thank Jon fully for this early confidence and, if any of my team have ever questioned why Jon always has my ear or why'd I'd go with a decision Jon had wanted, it's primarily for this reason. The truth is, if I had never met Jon, I'm 99.9% sure that Vibe would never have been a thing and I may have gone down a very different path.   

I'm not the only one to have really benefited from Jon's belief in others, many of the Vibe team have him to thank. Directly or indirectly, Jon has in some way been instrumental in putting the Northern team together. I know people like Jack Woodmansey, who was a university graduate when he joined, that has gone on to be a superstar alongside Hannes Pretorius and Jim Mann - are all with Vibe today because of Jon and his human instincts that naturally attract good, honest, hard working people. 

Over the years, Jon and I have directly gone on to employee over 60 people across two locations, raised over ￡6.2million from private investors (which in itself we could write a book about) and gone on to launch several products: Vibe Tickets app, Vibe Tickets mobile web, TIMs, Vibe Pay app, the Gateway and they're just the ones the public know about. Don't worry, Jon, I won't mention "Gridlr"!

Jon is leaving not only a legacy but he also leaves the company in it’s best shape ever. We have a strong tech stack, a robust gateway to power our flagship product, amazing developers and a trusted brand with products in the market. These are the foundations that will enable us to go on and take Vibe to the next stage. All I can say is that I’m more confident than I've ever been about the future - we have a clear plan and we keep on building!

I hope you can all appreciate that today is a sad day for me and writing this has brought back many memories and things to reflect on. I know this isn't going to be the end of my working relationship with Jon or the end of Jon’s association Vibe, but at least, for now, I want you all to join me in thanking Jon for his time and genuinely wish him all the best in his future projects. He really is a superstar!

Thank you Jon.