In April 2009, John Borthwick asked me to join a fledgling Betaworks company created by the wonderful Billy Chasen. For the first year there were just two of us trying to build an analytics business in a world where Google Analytics was both free and universally installed. It took 11 months to get to $10k in monthly revenue. Today, that company is Chartbeat and it is the dominant player in media analytics.

A little while ago, I let the board know that I intended to step back from Chartbeat and resign my position as CEO. Over the last year, I started to miss the early stages of startup life. It is those moments of high risk and creativity that I live for. I couldn’t leave without knowing the right person is in place to keep pushing Chartbeat forward. That is why Chartbeat has appointed John Saroff to serve as its CEO.

I recruited John to Chartbeat in 2013 and promoted him to COO in 2014. With Chartbeat’s excellent leadership — Aaron, Agnes, Brent, Josh, Mona, Nathan, and Wes — and our innovative, dedicated team, we’ve expanded the company’s reach to 65 countries around the world. I’ve personally learned a tremendous amount from John, and I know that he has the skills and passion necessary to grow this business. I look forward to watching Chartbeat thrive under his leadership.

Although I am leaving day-to-day work at Chartbeat, I will remain as a Senior Advisor to John and the Board and will always be proud to say that I am Chartbeat’s Founding CEO. I’m gratified by all the good work we’ve done in the world, and I’m even prouder of the team that John and I have built. It has been the greatest privilege to lead this company.

Thank you to every employee, investor, client, and partner who made this journey so wonderful.