Flew to New York City for a meeting where he might sell Starter Story for a life-changing amount of money.
Returned to places from the early Starter Story journey, including his old apartment, the former Starbucks where he worked each morning, and his old job.
Remembered wanting something more while working a stable six-figure developer job at a small startup.
Built Starter Story through two hours of deep work every morning before work.
Wrote, coded, sent emails, interviewed founders, and refreshed Stripe while revenue slowly moved from zero to a few hundred dollars.
Building Starter Story
Quit his job after about a year of morning work and went all in with about $12,000 to his name.
Kept shipping, posting content, interviewing, coding, and working through months where nothing moved or things broke.
Saw revenue slowly tick up instead of exploding overnight.
Hired his first person, his sister, which made the project feel more real.
Continued hiring until Starter Story felt like a real company with more responsibility.
Decision To Sell
Started the business for freedom, but over time the business became his identity.
Felt that Starter Story consumed his days and his sense of self.
Had previously said he would never sell, but reconsidered when an actual offer arrived.
Questioned whether selling was the rational choice or just a reaction to being tired.
Realized the goal was to build something bigger than himself that did not depend entirely on him.
Decided that letting go could allow Starter Story to become what it was meant to be.
Acquisition
Completed the sale and described it as closing a chapter rather than winning.
Announced that Starter Story was acquired by HubSpot, a public company.
Said the numbers mattered less than alignment during the HubSpot conversation.
Shared that the team, mission, and focus on founder stories would remain the same.
Expected more resources, bigger interviews, more shows, better production, more tools, and more experiments.
Described the sale price only as life-changing and said he could not share full details.
Lessons And Reflection
Framed the story as proof that life can change through belief and consistency over years.
Emphasized that the outcome came from compounding effort rather than one lucky break.
Thanked viewers and supporters for being part of Starter Story’s growth.
Planned to share more about the deal, negotiation, and building a sellable business separately.
