I’ve struggled writing this for a while — I debated whether or not I should even post anything publicly — but I finally put some thoughts together.
A few weeks ago, we decided to officially shut down Holder. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.
Ultimately, the web3 market is too early for the company we wanted to build.
We took a major bet on a nascent, emerging industry and knew it would be an uphill battle. Web3 brand messaging and marketing automation will be a MAJOR category in the future, but it's not ready yet in its current form.
I'm incredibly grateful for this experience and the opportunity to lead and build Holder. I'm so proud of what we built, the team we assembled, and the amazing products we shipped.
I can't say thank you enough to our team, investors, High Alpha, board members (Kristian Andersen Keith Laska), and all our customers and partners who took a chance on us. The journey was truly the reward.
So what’s next? This is still just the beginning for me. I'm working on some new projects and continuing to lean into the things that truly excite me — web3 marketing, Farcaster, B2B web3, the future of SaaS, real AI use cases, the music industry, and more — with the goal of launching something new in the future.
My true passion is to help build companies and grow them. While I work on what's next, I’m taking some time to help others start new companies or grow their businesses, focused on marketing, growth, product, and messaging. I'll be advising some startups and doing some fractional marketing work, so if you're working on something cool and want to chat, reach out on Farcaster.
I'm also an open book — I'd love to chat with other founders and am willing to share everything about building (and winding down) Holder. I hope there are many lessons I can help share through our experience and I'd love to see this contribute to the greater good of more companies being successful in the future. Depending on the reception of this post, I may do some AMAs on Farcaster and happy to tell all.
