Selling Macaw. Joining InVision.
It was a blustery winter in Cambridge, MA. The wife and I just had our first kid and she was still high on baby hormones, which have the undocumented side effect of agreeing to let your husband quit his cushy job to found a startup. It’s her fault really. What was she thinking? Gone were steady pay and any sense of stability. On deck were the most trying and rewarding years of my career.
That was exactly three years ago when I left MIT to enter startup land. With the goal of bridging the gap between designers and developers, I named the company Macaw — one of the only creatures capable of speaking the language of two different species. Startup land brought gamuts of experience spanning success to mishap, mania to depression, FTW to WTF. The latest experience: acquisition.
I’m thrilled to announce that Macaw has been acquired by InVision!
Selling the company was a difficult decision. Macaw was, by all means, an indie software shop. We didn’t follow the glamorized startup path of building an MVP at YC in SF for VC and growth hacking our way through the series alphabet. We Kickstarted and, despite being pursued by some of the most notable VC’s out there, we stayed independent. We had term sheets for millions of dollars. We walked. We had other suitors. We passed.
“Some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.”
— Morgan Freeman discussing why Macaw didn’t take on funding
Freedom meant a lot to us. To achieve what we wanted, it was important that we did things our way. It was hard and we paid the toll with a hearty serving of fuck ups. But, we achieved more in three short years than others do with a team and wallet ten times our size. So, why sell? Why InVision?
Our meet cute came late in the summer. InVision CEO Clark Valberg and I had the business equivalent of a blind date, which was actually setup by one of our biggest competitors. There was an alignment of values and a shared vision for the future of design tools. Everything I thought, he said. Everything he said, I agreed with. Kismet, baby! It became clear that we could do much more together than apart, so we got hitched.
Extraordinary things are brewing at InVision. They’ve built a large, inspiring community and an immensely talented team. They’re not resting on their laurels, either. Where InVision has been is a small part of where they’ll be. They’ve been honing a vision for the future of collaborative design and we feel privileged to play a part in making it a reality.
This new chapter comes with a heavy heart but sure enthusiasm. We’re eternally grateful to everyone who supported us over the years. Some of you may miss the bird nerds, but I promise: You’ve not heard the last of us. We’re working on some groundbreaking products, which I can’t wait to share with you!
Thanks for the ride.
