Today I announced BEX is shutting down.

Today I announced TheBeerExchange.io is shutting down, closing a chapter in my life that spans almost a decade. I wanted to share my thoughts on my journey, mainly for me, but also for any other founders out there who might find my experiences helpful.

It's difficult to put into words how I'm feeling. It's a strange combination of relief, sadness, accomplishment, opportunity, disappointment, failure, and gratitude. We set out to accomplish a goal, and although we ultimately failed, we did things just right enough built a genuine community and a product that provided real value to tens of thousands of people. That's something I'm damn proud of.?

The funny thing is, most of this journey has been a weird mix of emotions. The highs of shipping product or nailing an investor pitch to the lows of two-inch packets showing up in the mail containing your first lawsuit. The "roller coaster of emotions" is a perfect depiction of startup life, and holy shit is it painfully intoxicating.?

This journey as a founder had taught me more about myself than I'd like to admit. It's a sentiment I feel like most other founders can relate it - a weird mix of "that was a great call we made" combined with "holy shit why the hell did I do that?!" I learned I'm capable of way more than I ever thought I was, and I became intimately familiar with my own shortcomings. In the end, I'm thankful for the things my experiences building BEX taught me:

• Actual grit, hustle, creativity, and unrelenting hard work are what actually gets shit done.
• Failure is a part of building a startup, but that doesn't change the fact that failing sucks and makes you feel like shit. Fight it at every turn.?
• Action is better than inaction.
• Focusing on a clear mission and goal is crucial to any type of success.
• Not chasing the shiny new opportunity is hard for entrepreneurs, but it's a skill that will prove critical to succeed in the long run.
• Earnestly listening to the feedback people give you is priceless.?
• Investing in your community and shipping fast and frequently is key to driving sustainable growth.
• Don't burn bridges. The startup world is smaller than you think, and things come full circle. Perfect example - I remember deciding to use Intercom back in 2015, and now I work there.
• Founder depression is as real as it gets. It's ok to feel alone, isolated, frustrated, sad, helpless, anxious, and every other shitty emotion. Just make sure to acknowledge it, do what you need to do to get help, and surround yourself with great people.

Thankfully I had some amazing people in my corner.?

Rethesh, Luke, and Keith all took chances on me starting this whole thing. I hope you all know how much that means, and know that despite a lot of my own failures, I always did my best and made decisions in the best interest of the company and our community. We built something awesome that tens of thousands of people used and enjoyed, and no matter what that's something we can be proud of.?

To Greg Artzt. I'll never forget the first question you asked me when I told you I was leaving Punch to do BEX full time: "What can I do to help?" That says more about your leadership and character than anything else I could say.

To Mark McDowell for hearing our investor pitch, and despite not funding us, providing me with feedback and guidance that proved way more valuable than any amount of money. Thanks for challenging me to think bigger, and more importantly, instilling confidence in me that I could actually achieve bigger.?

To my friends and family who supported me through the ups and downs - thank you from the bottom of my heart. Special thanks to those of you who would buy me rounds of beers knowing I was living off of savings and buying stale bread from Jimmy John's to save money.?

And perhaps those who deserve the most thanks, every person who supported BEX.

• The early adopters that stuck around even when we launched the initial version without cellar functionality.
• The Premium users who supported our growth
• The ambassadors who helped spread the word for no other reason than you believed in our mission.
• To every single one of you who sent me an email or message saying how BEX helped you try beer you always wanted or how it helped you make friends you still stay in touch with. I have all those messages saved, and believe it or not, it's the thing that kept me going for years.

This end is bittersweet. Although disappointment lingers, I could not be more proud of the product and community we helped build over the last 8 years. Tonight I'm going to have a beer, think about some of my favorite memories from this journey, and maybe for a bit, think about what can come next.

Cheers ??