What’s next for me and Gimkit…

Wow. Never in a thousand years did I ever imagine writing this.

I launched Gimkit back in October of 2017 when I was starting my junior year of high school. Back then it was called Gimlet (yep, like the alcoholic beverage) and pretty much lived solely as a school project. I remember making my goal for the project: Get 10 teachers using Gimkit in their classroom.

I never would’ve thought Gimkit would have made it as far as it has today, with over 700,000 monthly active users.

I didn’t think teachers and students would love Gimkit so much that it would become a full-time job. But, it has, and I’m beyond grateful. Your support has been nothing short of spectacular. I haven’t spent a cent on any paid advertising. Gimkit has grown completely organically thanks to you. You’ve been there to provide feedback, suggestions, and improvements that have helped shape Gimkit into what it is today.

As I’ve spent more time working on Gimkit, my love for it and my desire to help improve education has only grown. The growth and success Gimkit has experienced, specifically in the second half of 2018 have made me come to two major realizations:

1. I want to work on Gimkit full-time when I graduate HS later this year
2. I’m going to need some help

I’ve gone back and forth on what I want to do after high school. Gimkit has been the most amazing learning experience, but it’s scary to go all in and risk my career on something that was a school project a little over a year ago. With college and all the other post-high-school options, deciding to skip on those was not an easy decision. However, after lots of research, family meetings, and quiet time, I came to a realization: Gimkit has been the most rewarding work of my life, and I don’t want to give that up now.

I didn’t build Gimkit on my own, and I don’t plan to moving forward. I built it with your help, and I’m excited keep building Gimkit with you.

Because of how important Gimkit is for students, teachers, and learning as a whole, I feel energized and ready to hop from high school to running Gimkit full-time after I graduate in June.

That brings me to my second realization from above, that I’m going to need some help. September 2018, when school was getting back into full swing, saw an uptick in usage and new users. But that was nothing compared to October. And November and December outpaced October.

All of this growth has made it clear that I need help running Gimkit, even before I graduate. In my 2018 Year In Review, I made it one of my goals to focus more on building Gimkit. I love working on every aspect of running Gimkit, but what I really enjoy most is building the game and product. In order to spend more time building, I’ve brought on Jeff Osborn as business co-founder!

Jeff has been with me since practically the beginning; before Gimkit was called Gimkit. For over a year, Jeff has been my business mentor, providing advice, resources, and support to help me run Gimkit. Without his work and help, Gimkit would not be here today. You wouldn’t be using Gimkit in your class. My weaknesses are his strengths; that combined with his commitment to Gimkit and his dedication towards making education better makes him a perfect fit.

Jeff and I work extremely well together, and throughout our entire time together, he’s always treated me with generous amounts of respect and attention. I’m looking forward to you all getting to know him (some of you may have already talked to him when he helped me conduct some early user interviews). If you have a few extra free minutes, feel free to say hi! You can email him: jeff@gimkit.com

To make things brief, Jeff will be in charge of the business side of Gimkit, while I work on the product. This means smoother business operations, but also means I get more time to spend building and improving the product. It’s a win-win which I’m excited for everyone involved.

I don’t think it’s fair to share this news without giving credit where credit is due. There are lots of people in my life that without them, I would not be here today writing this. I want to give credit to those that have helped get Gimkit to the point where it is today.

First of all, I have to thank my mom and dad. You’ve supported me in every step of the way through Gimkit’s journey. You’ve believed in me and Gimkit at every step, even when there wasn’t much to believe in. With your experience, support, and advice, you’ve helped me through growing pains and navigate through tricky situations.

To my brother and sister, you looked for ways to help support me and Gimkit whenever you could. You never expressed any jealousy, and instead were always there to help me succeed and hoped I would succeed. When days got stressful, you were there to help fill-in for household chores and tasks.

To Hillary, my school advisor, you’ve made me feel a sense of comfort at school that I’ve never had before. You took the time to understand what was going on with me and Gimkit and find ways to help. You truly listened and pushed me beyond what I would have been able to do myself.

To Julia, my principal, you’ve created such an amazing school that has given me the opportunity to build this as my school-work. You’ve fostered a great and supportive school community that never made feel scared to get help when needed. You made special accommodations for me to help me pursue my dreams.

And last but not least, to Finn, my dog. When days were tight, jam-packed and stressful, you were always there with cuteness and licks to help calm me down. You would always come downstairs to come bark at me to go to the park when I was on my computer working for too long.

Well, that’s the news folks. I’m sure you’ll have some questions, so feel free to email me, josh@gimkit.com or tweet me @JoshGimkit if you need anything. Of course, you can also now reach out to Jeff, jeff@gimkit.com or @JeffGimkit.

Once again, a final thanks for everything. Here’s to what’s next for Gimkit…