Why I Chose to Leave the Company I Co-Founded 17 Years Ago

This was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. It started when talking casually to Karl Hindle, founder, and CEO at Wellspring Digital, about my future and where I was looking to go. I’ve been offered jobs in the past, but this felt different.

Karl and I connected on a philosophical level in terms of what a digital marketing agency should be. He also valued my efforts as a networker, writer, and public speaker.

To be clear, I did not leave Wood Street, the company I co-founded 17 years ago, because I didn’t believe in what they were doing. Wood Street is still a top web design and development firm in the region, if not nationwide. I expect great things for them in the future, and I was and always will be impressed and humbled by the talent over there.

I will certainly miss my Wood Street family, but it was time to move on.

I left because I felt that my role at Wood Street was not in line with my vision for my professional future. Marketing technology has moved way beyond website creation, which is increasingly a commoditized activity, to connecting marketing strategy and execution to business outcomes. My new role at Wellspring Digital will give me greater access to personal growth opportunities, while also getting to learn more about digital marketing from some of the best and brightest in the industry.

My new role is as Wellspring Digital’s Chief Development and Marketing Officer. In this role I will be better equipped to consult, write, and speak about the topics marketing directors and business owners always want help with: digital strategy, SEO, paid online advertising, marketing automation, and content marketing. Yet, there are still more than these stereotypical offerings and services. Wellspring Digital is successfully working with predictive technologies such as sentiment analysis and swarm AI, putting the firm right at the cutting edge of marketing technology.

The difference for me now is I am backed by a deep well of experience and resources that only a truly full-service digital marketing agency can deliver.

From hosting, to web development & support, through to creating a digital strategy and tactical execution, and all while delivering visibility into how results are created.

The team at Wellspring Digital is a solid crew of dedicated professionals, and I am very proud and happy to join them. We are obsessed with integrity, transparency, and getting results. Of course, everyone says some version of this, but while making the most difficult decision of my professional career, I found Karl and everyone at Wellspring Digital lives by these principles and I will do the same.

I have found my tribe.

We want you to know what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how well it’s paying off. If there is a problem or if we’ve made a mistake, we own it! If we can’t do something for you, we tell you this and help you find someone who can.

It’s this level of brutal honesty combined with mad digital marketing skills that ultimately made the decision for me: to move from a comfortable position to one way outside my own comfort zone and be challenged like never before. To have the opportunity to work with a great team who put into practice what I have been preaching and talking about for years.

The excitement I feel is as intense as the apprehension, but I feel professionally alive and liberated.

Here’s to the future!!!