June 2024 marks the end of my six and a half year tenure at Yubico. This was a decision that I did not make lightly. Really, it only happened because the stars aligned on another opportunity that I could not refuse. It’s also something that’s been in the making for some time now. This post serves as my farewell letter and an answer to “what’s next” for me.

A quick side note: If, by chance, you have found my blog through my internal departure note - welcome. I know there’s not much here now, but writing is one thing that I plan to do much more now. If you know me, I am not fond of social media. So, the best way to passively keep tabs on what I’m up to is to subscribe to this blog. I expose an RSS feed here which can be used with your favorite news reader. (I use a self-hosted instance FreshRSS. I like it well enough.)

Wow. It’s hard to believe how quickly 6 1/2 years can fly by. I suppose the COVID pandemic had a little to do with that, but really - I still can’t believe it.

It really does seem like a year ago when I first walked into the Palo Alto office for my on-site new employee orientation. I was excited and a little intimidated. The first few months were a bit surreal: I was doing a lot of similar motions to what I had done at Microsoft before, but with a new set of people talking about a new set of problems. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

But thankfully everyone was so friendly and welcoming.

I recall the feeling of culture shock and also a bit of a “detox” coming from a 100,000+ employee behemoth like Microsoft into a then 80-ish employee Yubico. I thank the stars I can handle ambiguity, because things were quite unstructured back then. I can only chuckle when I hear folks today lament on how things need to be more structured or this way or that. They aren’t wrong, of course - but if they only knew!

The company and its people have grown a lot in these past years. It has been an incredibly fun journey to see us grow that team of 80 into over 460 at the time of my departure. There have been some growing pains, for sure, but I do believe we’re in a better place today than where we were when I started.

Yubico and the people I’ve met along the way have influenced me in ways I can only begin to articulate. The amount of brilliant and kind individuals that I got to interact with will be what I remember the most. Yubico does feel like a people-first company. That culture should not be undervalued, and I hope that I can foster a similar environment in my next venture.

My time at Yubico has left me with mostly fond memories and experiences. The sudden losses of our beloved colleagues Val Tsuryk and Chris Streeks were notable exceptions. But to see how people pulled together in these difficult times is just another testament to the sort of company we work for.

I want to thank Yubico leadership for giving me such an incredible opportunity for growth and to be a part of shaping such an incredible company and product. I would not be prepared for what’s next without your mentorship.

I thank my incredible peers in Engineering, Product, and elsewhere for putting up with my highly opinionated and often stubborn attitude! And for teaching me to listen and to accept that I can’t (and shouldn’t) always have my way. You all are fantastic and brilliant people and I know that I am leaving things in very capable hands.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone within the company for just being so genuine, passionate, and incredible human beings. It’s clear to me that people are at Yubico not just for a job, but because they truly believe in making the world a better place. That was an incredibly humbling environment to be in.

I leave you with this: It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day struggle and stress. It is a job, after all. But I hope that some of my reflections upon my own departure can serve as a reminder of how truly special a place Yubico is. Cherish each other and what you have, and work each day to make tomorrow even better.

Sabbatical

So what’s next for me?

Well, we’ll get to the career part in a moment. But in the immediate-term, I plan to focus on me. 15 years of solid, intense work has taken its toll. But it’s had its rewards as well.

I am privileged to have been taken well care of by both Yubico and Microsoft. I have set aside some of my savings so that I may afford a short sabbatical to slow down, catch my breath, and focus on resetting my work-life balance.

About a year and a half ago I moved back to Pennsylvania. This is where I am originally from. While I loved Seattle, it never quite felt like “home”. And every time I went back to visit friends and family - it just felt “right” to be there. So I finally acted on it. I have not regretted that choice.

But - this meant leaving friends behind. It meant becoming a fully remote employee. Living in a much more rural area, I don’t have the same easy access to activities with single people my age like I did in Washington. And so it was a little too easy for work to fill that void. A new normal set in which was not healthy for me.

So now I am leaving myself with no excuse. Before “the next thing” happens, I plan to focus on me. Getting back in the habit of going to the gym every morning. Finding activities beyond work and computer related things. But also spend more time on personal projects where I can feel truly creative. I need to continue meeting new people. Hopefully I’ll meet a life partner and start a family.

I won’t accomplish all of these in the 2-3 month summer sabbatical I’m giving myself, but I will put in place the habits and routines that I will need to achieve those goals.

What’s next

I’ve had the itch to “do my own thing” for some time now. That doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a CEO or a solopreneur. But found a company and build something that I could truly call “mine”.

And so that’s what I’m going to do.

I’m not doing this alone. I have two others that I am founding with. One of whom I’ve known for a very long time - and in fact is someone I have built a business with before. The three of us each bring a unique skill-set and come from diverse backgrounds. Together, we cover quite a large swath of the computer engineering landscape which will afford us many opportunities.

So what are we going to do?

Well, that’s hard to say with certain clarity yet. We have no shortage of ideas or capabilities. We’re not so concerned with that. Instead, we’re focusing on the other parts of the “success” equation.

We are spending a lot of time getting to know each other personally and professionally. We are defining our own goals and reasons for creating a company and are trying to find the right parameters, vision, and milestones that will ensure we can operate as a unified team. We’re trying to figure out a process for how we evaluate our ideas so that we don’t waste time, money, or energy chasing shiny things that don’t have potential.

Essentially - we want to make sure we define the sort of company we want to build before we become encumbered by contractual obligations. We want to make sure we’re building things like work-life balance and the freedom to explore our own creativity into the DNA of whatever entity we end up creating.

What product(s) we build will need to fit into that framework.

To some, this may seem backwards or even risky. I assure you, it’s not. Not identifying and solving these issues up front are the sorts of things that cause early-stage companies to fail. Yes, finding a great idea and selling it is extremely important and challenging. But the three of us have already had numerous successes here. The ability to work together, make difficult decisions, and to have a roadmap of how things should unfold - that’s the truly hard part.

I can say what we are not doing: We are not doing the “Silicon Valley” startup thing. We’re not taking VC money. If we take any investments, it’s an investment into the product and not the company. For those of us who have only ever worked in the Seattle or Bay Areas, it’s sometimes easy to forget that there are hundreds of thousands of other businesses and business models out there.

We’re not looking to be the next trillion dollar company. Or even billion. We are aiming to build something that is sustainable. To allow us to enjoy what we work on and to be proud of what we make. And most importantly, to enjoy our lives outside of work.

I don’t know if we’ll achieve this. I think we will. But even if we don’t, I’ll have gained another important life experience and I know I’ll be better for having tried.

If you’ve made it to the end, thank you. I hope we can stay in touch. Check back here to see what I’m up to. I wish you the best and please, never hesitate to reach out!