Didn't you just start four months ago? »

For those of you that don't know, I recently transitioned out of being 'the tech. guy' behind Catchafire.org...and since I was only there for about four months in total, you might be wondering just what happened? So I thought I would take a quick minute to explain myself.

Before I get into any details though, I want to say that this move was entirely initiated by me. Once I made my decision the team supported it and I believe we made the transition happen quickly and friendly. And I really believe we all came out for the better in the end (they found a SUPERSTAR in Andrew Lin to replace me). Plus I still intend to pitch in as they need me, and I *think* we are all still on good terms...and I know personally I would be happy to work with Jane and Rachael again in the future.

Anyway, getting back to just why I decided to remove myself so shortly after having joined the team...

The core reason is that I just couldn't find enough passion within myself for the project (this was my concern going in, but I thought I might be able to build up the passion once I got into it full time - I was wrong)...it wasn't that I didn't like the idea or think that it would work out (actually I love the idea and I'm certain that they are going to build a huge industry around it)...it was just that, no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't loosing sleep over the idea. I could easily focus on it from 9 to 5, and then shut down for the night.

I know that when I'm truly passionate about a project or a problem I go into 'nonstop' mode and literally can't go to sleep (or do just about anything really) without thinking about what I'm going to do/try next to move it forward...so I've been doing this sort of thing long enough, and know myself well enough, to know when I'm really just calling it in...

And to me that's a HORRIBLE way to be within such an early stage startup...and completely unfair to the rest of the team that's pouring so much of their heart and soul into the project.

Could I have made it work? Yes, without a doubt...and in fact, I did manage to build the initial alpha version (that was already bringing in sales) and was heavily into a Beta version we were just about to release (though I suspect my replacement will take things in a different direction and eventually throw out all the code I was putting in place -- which is completely fair and understandable given the position).

But I'm a big believer in passion...and I think it's a NECESSITY in any early stage startup where everyone's gotta be working 24/7 doing the work of a small army...and if someone's not putting everything they have into it, it's to everyone's advantage to get them out as quickly as possible (there's just no room to waste time trying to make it work at such an early stage).

So, I decided to remove myself as quickly as possible (it took about a month or so to find what we think is the perfect replacement and only a couple of days to make the actual transition once we found Andrew).

Though my time at Catchafire was short, it really was sweet...and I like to think I learned a lot more about myself, what really motivates me, and what sort of things I personally need to do different in my next adventure (which I'm already lining up and will talk more about shortly).

As I mentioned before, I'm sure Catchafire is going to continue to build an amazing company going forward (if for no other reason than they are already an amazing team of people who I think are doing the right things for the right reasons)...and I look forward watching them do just that (and kicking myself in the future for not sticking around long enough to earn any stock!)