[hi play above track as you read this]
buildspace.
it’s not even a company to me, it’s literally like a friend i dearly love.
when i think of buildspace i think of the laughs we had while making our videos, the times i broke down in tears in moments when obsession wore me down, the deep and irreplaceable camaraderie our team shared, getting to meet so many of you at irl and of course all the thousands of times you all pressed 1 in the chat.
all in all, i’ve had the best five years of my life here.
but, i’ve decided to move on from buildspace and fully shut it down.
this means from this day onwards, buildspace is… no more.
this all might come as a shock.
i know many of you reading this bleed buildspace.
you adore this thing we created.
it’s a part of your life.
plus…
it all probably makes zero sense – i mean, didn’t we just end our largest season of all time?
it’s true. the company right now is the strongest it’s ever been with sage, nights & weekends, our brand and content.
so…why?
well, the company isn’t going down for any of the classic reasons.
no, it isn’t because of investor pressures (love you papa a16z).
no, it isn’t about runway (we have over 2+ years in the bank).
no, it isn't because of monetization (if needed we'd make $3-5m arr off sponsorships to at least pay the bills to keep the lights on)
no, it isn’t because of some drama behind the scenes (jeff isn’t pulling a coup to become ceo).
none of that stuff.
honestly, if it were any of those reasons above this would be easy as hell to explain and this would be a short letter.
in reality, the decision to close buildspace is a really personal one.
so what's up?
over the past five years, me + the team have poured our hearts into this thing.
we’ve created some of the coolest things i’ve ever seen that have touched the lives of millions of people – from the four houses, to our wacky live streams, to our physical campus in sf.
all with the purpose of helping people build their own ideas.
and, this includes the two years at zipschool where we got to do something similar...but for kids.
it’s been a long journey for me.
i love this company. i can’t say that enough.
and look -- i am really happy and proud of all of it.
buildspace is literally like the realization of the dreams i had when i was 13. at this point my passion for the work isn’t gone, but, more...content. in a weird way, buildspace feels "done" to me.
the fire to push isn’t there. and i’m not enjoying the work as i once did.
on top of that, i don’t have a clear new direction, or vision that would take this company to the next level that would reignite that passion within me.
tldr: (and it’s embarrassing to say) at this point i’m out of ideas to try that i can really put my all behind to take us further. all the paths i wanted to explore, i did. and i don't have a clear idea on the next path to go down. the desire to push like hell isn't burning as it once did.
but hey, those of you who know me know i wouldn’t walk away if a couple months are hard.
i started feeling this way in september 2023 – a year ago, shortly after s4 ended.
“i’ll get over this!”, i said to myself at the time.
after all, starting companies is rarely “fun” and you can go through these rough patches all the time.
i remember in 2020 i had a terrible rough patch and was depressed as hell because my heart just wasn’t in zipschool. but, we ended up figuring out a new direction with this curious new idea called buildspace.
so, yea, i felt i had seen worse.
and i felt this too would pass.
often in moments of confusion what i've always done is to just push forward, get momentum, and see where that takes me. that's what the last 12-mo have been about and we did some really cool shit:
launched a new ai product to 100,000 users, ran our biggest season ever, expanded our content to millions of hits. was wild.
it may sound crazy — but despite all the momentum, i couldn’t find the spark that made buildspace feel alive to me.
on the outside people are saying you're doing great, but on the inside you know something isn't right…
that’s why this is so difficult to explain to people like my parents, friends, colleagues, even you. because, we are so far from a shit company that no one cares about.
we have real fans.
i'm sure people reading this will cry.
thing is – it’s not about the numbers, or the growth, or even the impact.
buildspace has always been driven by passion to do something new and groundbreaking.
and sadly, i just haven’t been able to craft an updated direction that feels worth pursuing.
that’s 100% on me.
i could certainly keep dogging it out for another 12 months (it can always be argued that the gold is right there). but tbh, i don't have any new moves.
moving ahead in such a state just feels irresponsible.
doesn’t feel fair to anyone—investors, team, or myself.
my guiding light for the last five years has been to do things that make me happy. i'm literally fueled by my love for the work. it's my main motivation.
but, i've been out of love and out of joy for a while now.
and if i'm not happy anymore, the work is gonna suffer.
instead of forcing something that doesn't feel right — i think sometimes you gotta have the strength to let go. because what lies ahead may be more beautiful than what lies behind.
but that's an insanely difficult, gut-wrenching decision to make when you have thousands of fans, a loving team, and insane support.
that's why i spent a whole year making this decision.
it feels right.
i’ve learned now that the time and space needed to figure out my next angle isn’t going to happen in a few weeks or months. i need to step away for some time and find out what's next for me and what i want to build.
i know this post will probably disappoint thousands of people.
i'm so sorry i couldn't make it work.
i'm so sorry i couldn't be better.
and i just hope you can respect the call.
