[hi play above track as you read this]
by: farza.
published: aug 23, 2024.
so, 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 (we'd confidently 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.
so, what's next?
for the team — each person is in the process of figuring out their next thing. they've known this news for a while.
this is the most talented team i've ever seen in my life. and you all know that just by the quality of their output. many of you even know most of them by name.
each person is incredibly gifted. they will do great things. i don't think any of them are interested in getting a classic "job" tbh, but, if you got something cool hit them up. you never know.
to the team — i just want you to know, the hardest part of this decision was knowing that if i shut the company down, then i wouldn't get to come in every day and work with you all.
alec, stavan, jeffrey, tair, josh, amit, dante, aiden, adrianna.
you're my heroes. you gave it all your heart.
thank you for inspiring me for all these years.
as for what's next for me? you know… i'm not sure. many people keep asking me what i'm going to do next. thing is if i knew what i was gonna do next, then i'd be doing it here. i wouldn't be closing this down.
i've been building stuff since i was 13. i'm 28 now. many of you reading this are people that have followed me for half my life from when i was making yt videos and small businesses on ebay.
its been a ride.
to move ahead, i'll be stepping away for a bit. i'm gonna go to amsterdam, hang out with my buddy hans, and spend time just…not building. it'll be the first time in my life i've done such a thing.
after that? let's see.
dw dw, i'm not retiring or joining google or some shit like that lol.
my love for making stuff remains.
I'll certainly be back :).
so that's the plan for me + team.
but, what about you!
buildspace closing may feel like this black hole.
it was where you gave your ideas a shot.
where you got others to give a shit about your work.
where you found people for the first time who were like you.
it may feel really confusing on how to move forward.
but, do you see the one constant in everything?
you.
you did all this.
you took a bet on yourself.
you gave your ideas a shot.
you sought out something more.
you were always what made this place special.
all the live streams, sick merch, funny skits on twitter, all the times you heard josh say "this is", the insane irl events, the anime music videos — all of this would be fucking nothing without you.
buildspace may be no more — but, you're just getting started.
your journey was always meant to start here.
it was never meant to end here.
keep going.
don't lose that spark that got you here.
i hope we were able to inspire you to build something good.
thank you for a wonderful five years.
i love u.
bye <3
- farza
