If you’re a Sifter customer, rest assured that you’re in good hands. Choosing who we sold to was a very big deal for us. It wasn’t about selling the business so much as it was about finding someone else to carry the torch. If you’re not a Sifter customer, there’s never been a better time to get onboard.

Through all of the process, I cared deeply about finding a home for Sifter that I could genuinely feel good about. It had to go to the right team that customers could count on to be good stewards. Thanks to an introduction to JD by good friend, Carl Smith, we found that team. I’d even argue that Sifter is in better hands now. JD has the track record of taking great care of products and their customers. So I couldn’t be more confident in Sifter’s future or more excited to pass the torch.

Once the new team is completely familiar with Sifter, I’ll eventually be phased out, but in the meantime, I’m here to help make sure the transition is as seamless as possible for everyone. I may not be shipping any more code, but I’ll still be helping any time they need it.

So why sell Sifter? And what’s next?

The last couple years have been far more challenging than I would have liked. Nine surgeries, a lot of physical therapy, and adding another child to the family have changed a lot for us. Add an impending below-knee amputation, and I’m in a very different place.

During all of this, Sifter kept truckin’, but I felt that I wasn’t doing a good enough job. I believed that if I could just make it through, I’d be able to pick up the pace, but my priorities had changed. I love creating software, but there’s a big difference between creating software and running a business. With everything that’s changed, I decided it was best to step back from running a business.

I’m not going far, though. I’ve joined my friends at Wildbit where I’ll be helping out with all sorts of things related to Beanstalk, Postmark, and DeployBot. But that’s another story.